








= ' 
n 
‘ 
4 
\ . 
' 
4 
* 
, 
ba 
SY 
* 
a” 
‘ 
: ’ 
~ 
i 
\ 
‘ ‘ 
’ 
“ 



































+- 





e 


AN- ROME: 


HRMEELE 


‘FORVM: OF ‘TRA 
‘GREAT 

















{0.96 


= "3h e-26 #26 





Seeune——~~-, 
ee 








[ 2) 2 | 
' ' : Hi 
Sones ak Soothe pee eT fee ey an eee ener eeavreib fmm moe me lan J0 on eh 0.96 ma hn nn ee net meee ee NG L 


an ee an 


24 : 
meee 250 3 


--- +------- - +2 





JS awe mne mereremeseee bk. 


Poor tre 


baw me nnen aasne ne en 2 ee a nn = en I] anne en a ee oe eee ee nnn ew tem me ene ee rn wee ee ee oe eee it. VM 


SR ES en ee ene rere we UIaEN STEED “nies ean 


BRICKWORK 
IN TTALY 


A Brief Review 
from Ancient to 
Modern Times 





AMERICAN FACE Brick ASSOCIATION 
CHICAGO 
MCMxXXV 





lies 4 . 
“a Zz 


Oa ak de ae ee 


ab ts + 
» - 





P. , 
— Copyright 1925 — 
AMERICAN Face Brick ASSOCIATION 
| A 
AY 
i ; 
ao wees 
~ Py —s cSt "pid 





TABLE OF CONTENTS 


FRONTISPIECE . 
INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE . 


Part Il. Brick In Roman ANTIQUITY 


Manufacture and Sizes . 
Brick in Construction 
Walls 

Arches . 

Vaults . . 

Brick in Decoration . 
Leading Examples 


Part Il. Brick IN THE MIDDLE AGES 


Manufacture and Construction 

The Ravenna Period 
Longobard and Pre-Lombard peniad: 
Lombard-Romanesque Period . 
Gothic Period 


PAGE 
Facing Title 
VII-XIX 


I-5 
o-8 
8-11 
12-13 
13-23 
23-26 
26-46 


47-48 
48-65 
65-89 
89-140 
141-177 


Part III. RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE BRICKWORK 


Manufacture and Construction 
Arches, Vaults, and Cupolas 

Brick in Decoration . 

Period I of the Renaissance 

Period II of the Renaissance 

The Baroque and the XVIII Gaines 


Part IV. Brick IN THE MODERN PERIOD 


Manufacture . 


Examples of Modern Denies one care 


Sacred Architecture . 
Restorations 


MAP AND INDEX . 


178-180 
180-182 
182-185 
185-215 
215-228 
228-245 


246-248 
248-270 
271-285 
285-287 


288-298 





INTRODUCTION 


Vf N ART, as well as in all other forms of human effort, there always develop 
alongside of each other both conservative and liberal tendencies that are 
pretty sure at certain points to become respectively reactionary and radical. 
The conservative very justly appreciates the past and the liberal as justly 
values the present; the reactionary is as scornful of the present as the radical is 
of the past. Between the two extremes the Aristotelian mean ts the desideratum. 

We think of the course of human progress as that of an organic growth 
or inner development rather than of an outer mechanical construction. Its 
secret is that of assimilation and not of accretion. Even mutations, such as 
are revealed in the course of biological development, seem to be the result of 
stored up past tendencies. So that the history of art presents itself as a living 
growth out of the past, adjusting itself to the present, and moving toward the 
future. Both heredity, as past inheritance, and nurture, as present endeavor, 
must combine in the progress of art. 

Quite inadequate, on the one hand, ts a tenacious clinging to the past as 
seen in a mere repetition or slavish copy of the antique, clever and interesting 
in a way but at best only an indolent imitation and devoid of all originality 
and fitness to time and place. For, every new environment, every new period, 
demands and deserves its own forms of expression, which the originating 
genius of art is especially commissioned to create. And an art that is merely 
imitative of the past sells its birthright for an easily won mess of pottage. On 
the other hand, there is the extreme opposite tendency to break away from the 
past altogether as something backward, outworn, or even pernicious, and lo 
attempt something de novo, some original creation, resulting in all manner of 
strained affections or monstrous grotesqueries which may please ‘the ground- 
lings but make the judicious grieve and drive them back to the consolations of 
the past where, at any rate, there are always to be found forms at once filling 
and beautiful. 

At the same time, both the conservative and the radical render a real service 
if only we can hold a balance between them. The one keeps before us pas! 
accomplishments of real value—the priceless inheritances of experience with- 
out which we should simply have to do over again what our predecessors have 
done for us; the other shakes us, often very rudely, out of an indolent inertia, 
a sort of easy-going, repetitive traditionalism, and compels us not only to 
consider our present needs but to keep on the open road toward the future. 


VII 


At any rate, recognizing the vital significance of the past, or the immense 
value of the historical inheritance for the continued normal development of 
any art in the present, it has been thought desirable to review briefly the manu- 
facture and use of one of the time-honored constructive materials, the origin 
of which extends far beyond the earliest recorded history of man, and the 
application of which promises to grow with the growth of architecture. 

As Rome was the mother of modern Europe, from which in turn we in 
America have received our inheritance, the most natural beginning would 
seem to be a brief historical survey of the structural and artistic uses of brick, 
the material under consideration, in the Italian peninsula. By rare good 
fortune the aid of Italian authorities on the subject has been secured, as indi- 
cated by Professor Giovannoni, who has been kind enough to wrile an intro- 
ductory preface. The editor, who spent the spring and summer of 1923 in 
Italy, has gratefully to record not only the cordial assistance rendered by his 
fellow countrymen, official and other, throughout Italy, but also the charming 
courtesy and kindly helpfulness of the Italians to whom he applied. A list 
of all those deserving mention would have no meaning for the American 
reader, but the generous kindness of Dr. Arduino Colasanti, of Rome, Director 
General of Antiquities and Fine Arts, must especially be acknowledged, as 
his introductions opened every door from Sicily to Piedmont. 


The plans for the present volume were greatly furthered by the invaluable 
suggestions and aid of Professor Graham Phillips Stevens, under whose able 
direction the American Academy in Rome has won a place of marked distine- 
tion. With the proper support of American patrons, there is no reason why 
this fine institution, splendidly set on the brow of the Janiculum, should not 
win the same distinguished place in the world of art held by the famous Villa 
Medici, seal of the French Academy, on the opposite Pincian heights. That 
young American may consider himself indeed fortunate who has the privilege 
of spending a year or two on the “Hill,” where he can refresh and inform 
himself amid the glories of a classical past while preparing himself for the 
actualities of the present. | 

The library of the Academy afforded a happy chance meeting with Dr. 
Esther Boise Van Deman, whose erudite archeological researches are widely 
known in the learned world and who generously gave the writer numberless 
fruitful suggestions on the subject of ancient Roman brick construction, besides 
introducing him to Signorina Maria Barosso, the artist whose charming 
work in color is reproduced throughout this volume. Signorina Barosso’s 
connection with the Royal Office of the Palatine and Forum Excavations 
in Rome admirably fitted her not only to make accurate measured drawings but to 


Vill 


suggest here and there certain restorations that may help to visualize the orig- 
inal work. 

Very deeply appreciated is the generosity of Professor Arthur Kingsley 
Porter and his publishers, the Yale University Press, in kindly permitling 
the use of illustrations from his monumental work, Lombard Architecture. 
Aside from the commercial and official photographs furnished, many excellent 
special views were secured from Sansaini of Rome, and Cav. Umberto Orlandini 
of Modena. The translation of the Italian text owes much to the scholarly care of 
Professor Alfonso de Salvio, of the Department of Romance Languages, North- 
western University, Evanston, Ill. Great credit is also due to the Committee 
on Publications, Mr. George A. Bass, of St. Louis, Mo., and Mr. Frank 
W. Bulterworth, of Danvilie, Ill., for their intelligent authorization of the 
work and cordial support in carrying it to completion. Finally, acknowledge- 
ments are cordially made to the engravers and printers for their indefatigable 
care in cooperating to produce an artistic and craftsmanlike book. 

While the material here presented will prove of especial value to the young 
architect, it is hoped that it will have some worth also for all those who may in 
general be interested in every form of cultural development. The traveled 
reader may be disappointed in not finding here all of his favorite examples of fine 
Italian brickwork, but he is begged to consider the immense difficully, or 
rather impossibility, of doing detailed justice to so broad a subject within the 
limits of one modest volume. 


GeCc. Mans Pas D. 
Chicago, December 2, 1925. 





Antefiz on Temple 
Civiia Lavinia 


IX 





PREFACE 


HE adoption of constructive and decorative materials, es- 

pecially brick, in various places and times throughout the 
history of architecture, depends upon geological much more than 
artistic or historical considerations. Wherever the devel- 
opment of human civilization has taken place in great river 
valleys there has arisen an architecture in brick, made possible 
by the alluvial deposits. When, however, the centers of govern- 
ment and the consequent building activities have been in the 
vicinity of mountains or rocky formations, the ease of securing 
the natural material for construction has led to stone archi- 
tecture. 

No better example of such a principle could be given than 
that of the two oldest civilizations in the world, the Egyptian 
and the Chaldean. In Egypt the rocky borders of the Nile valley 
offered the material for the most monumental stone architec- 
ture, while clay along the river banks was made into sun-baked 
bricks for the humbler constructions. In Chaldea, on the other 
hand, that is, in the immense plains traversed by the Tigris and 
the Euphrates, the art and technique of burned clay was devel- 
oped and applied more fully, and attained gradually to a mar- 
velous degree of perfection, until it was used not only as con- 
structive material but also as a means for the transmission of 
human knowledge. 

It is interesting to apply these principles to Italy, a region 
which, geologically and orographically, is one of the most varied 
and irregular. Dante’s definition: 

i . ul bel paese che Appennin parte 

“FE il mar circonda e [Alpe . . 
may be rendered into exact scientific terms. That is, in the 
north, the Alps, a circle of granitic and calcareous mountains, 


* . the beautiful country which the Apennines divide and the sea and Alps surround... . 
XI 


form the vast amphitheatre of the Po valley; while the Apen- 
nines, dividing the peninsula, project southeastward into the 
Mediterranean like a great mole, forming a backbone of calca- 
reous mountains, through which narrow river valleys, like those 
of the Arno and the Tiber, find their way and, leaving fluvial 
deposits in shallow seas like the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, 
give rise to gently sloping shores of fine sand. 

This varied conformation is reflected in an alternate distri- 
bution of zones of brick and stone construction. Brick is widely 
used in the valley of the Po from Piedmont to Lower Lom- 
bardy and the Emilia, and also in the sea-coast regions, espe- - 
cially on the Adriatic. Where, however, mountains are near, as 
in Upper Lombardy, Upper Venetia, Umbria, and most of Li- 
guria, Tuscany, and Campania, stone prevails. Elsewhere, as 
in Rome, both methods of construction are found. 

To such natural and permanent causes, as Taine would name 
them, are to be added all those mutable influences of civilization 
and political administration which tend to modify and at times 
to efface temporarily all limitations. Thus the Roman Empire 
especially, with its powerful centralized government, its far-flung 
network of communication throughout the imperial provinces, 
and with its public service organized upon principles very similar 
to those of our day, was able at times to superimpose upon the 
natural conditions of local construction uniform standardized 
systems, characteristic of the technical and administrative or- 
ganization of the Empire. Just as the granite of Egypt, erther 
rough or dressed, was brought to Rome, and the pozzolana of 
Rome and Bacoli was transported everywhere for making strong 
hydraulic cement, so also, even in regions where stone was com- 
mon, brick was frequently and systematically used in wall fac- 
ings for enclosing the plastic concrete conglomerate, in arches 
and vaults as structural lines of reinforcement, or as decoration 
on the walls. 

These bricks came from the numerous yards, located in the 
valley zones, where the traditional methods were followed which 
were perfected in the preceding Etruscan period, technically 
godfather to Roman practice. It was not, however, in the form 


XII 


of brick that the early Etruscans developed the manufacture of 
burnt clays, since quadrangular blocks of limestone or tufa were 
the usual material for walls and vaults, but in the form of ex- 
ternal decorations such as antepagments and antefixes, roof tiles, 
and rich and varied ceremonial vessels, which show a true refine- 
ment in both the technical and artistic sense. 

When the Western Empire declined and Byzantine architec- 
ture advanced in northern Italy and the East, by grafting itself 
upon the regional schools of Roman architecture, the use of brick 
became even more extensive than it was at the height of the 
Roman power. Just as the great organic system of Byzantine 
construction, both in the disposition of its masses and in the bal- 
ancing of its static forces, grew out of the Roman vault, so also 
was derived the manner of employing brick in the wall struc- 
ture. As Ravenna, Aquileja, Thessalonica, and Constantinople, 
the great centers in which Byzantine architecture was elabor- 
ated, are all in valley or maritime zones, it is natural that brick 
construction in these centers took on a continually greater de- 
velopment, tending afterwards to spread toward the most dis- 
tant regions of the Eastern Empire. 

In like manner arose the Byzantine style of brick decoration 
which was applied to cornices and walls. It is easy to find this 
style, even in relatively late periods, being grafted upon other 
stylistic forms and contaminating them with foreign additions. 
For example, in the Roman campanile of the x1 to the 
x11 centuries, the type of brick cornices, projecting saw-tooth 
fashion on stone brackets, came to modify the composition. 
of the Lombard campanile with its alternate arrangement of 
parts, or to form the crown of ecclesiastical buildings. In the 
Church of San Sepolcro, of the Santo Stefano group at Bologna, 
the construction, which is of pure Lombard style, nevertheless 
shows on the exterior walls a checkered decoration of Byzantine 
origin with its combinations of vari-colored brick. 

These, however, are adaptations which are limited, if not al- 
together isolated, in Italy where, with the exception of a few 
centers like Ravenna, Milan, and localities in Venetia and Cala- 
bria, Byzantine architecture never exercised a dominating 


XIII 


influence. In the rest of Italy, throughout the Middle Ages, 
there obtained, in construction rather than in decoration, the 
most localized practice ever known. Moreover, this is a phe- 
nomenon typical of medieval architecture in all countries, as 
Choisy has so clearly shown. The instability of government, © 
the subdivision of territories, the scarcity of technical and 
financial means, the difficulty of communication, and the inse- 
curity of external relations led almost always to the use of local 
materials, thus giving to the geological theory the most direct 
and incontestable application. A few exceptions, as seen in 
partly completed work, constitute the best confirmation of this 
principle. Parma began its baptistery with marble imported 
from Verona, but when war hindered all trade, it continued 
the construction with its own local brick. Siena did the same 
in the x1v century when its palaces were at the height of con- 
struction. 

This phenomenon of the localization in the use of material 
caused brick to predominate during the Middle Ages in those 
regions of Italy previously indicated, and to celebrate a veritable 
triumph in medieval Romanesque and Gothic monuments, such 
as the cathedrals of Piacenza and Cremona; San Giacomo, San 
Francesco, the Mercanzia, and the great brick towers of Bologna; 
Santi Giovanni e Paolo and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari of 
Venice; the churches of Verona (with alternating brick and 
stone courses); the campaniles of Venice, Pomposa, Parma, 
and Rome; Santa Maria della Rocelletta near Squillace; Sant’ 
Antonio of Padua; the city halls of Fano and Rimini; the Bro- 
letto of Milan; the castles of Ferrara, Milan, Pavia, Gradara; 
and many others. 

However, the spread of the prevailing styles in construction 
and decoration carried with them the new and apparently irra- 
tional fact that the forms and the decorations characteristic of 
stone were often imitated in brick, and sometimes in terra cotta, 
where the transportation of the more expensive materials was 
practically impossible. Thus we often find, for example at Parma, 
Piacenza, Modena, and Bologna, types of cubical capitals exe- 
cuted in brick, vault ribs, window and door frames with mould- 


XIV 


ings carved in brick, as if they were stone, and cornices with 
small pendent arches, either simple or interlaced, which might be 
done indifferently either in stone or brick. 


Real ornamental terra cotta of delicate pattern and with its 
own refined and appropriate ornamentation came quite late, 
more particularly in the x1v and xv centuries. The best ex- 
amples of it are found in the valley of the Po or neighboring 
regions, such as Pavia, Bologna, Cremona, and Ferrara. 

When at the height of the Renaissance, in the xv century, 
Italian art definitely resumed classic forms, at first regional in 
character and timidly ornamental then universal and fully ar- 
chitectural, Italian architecture did not lose the local habit 
in the use of building materials, so fully established in the 
Middle Ages. This seeming contradiction is easily explained. 
The architecture of the Renaissance was no longer an art of 
sincerity in construction, but one rather of profound aesthetic 
harmony based upon exact relations among the individual 
parts and inspired by what Luca Macioli, a writer on aesthetics, 
calls “the divine proportion.” It is natural, therefore, that ex- 
pression in terms of the materials became secondary, the more 
so since, because of the changed social conditions of artists and 
workmen, the technique of the xv and xvi centuries was on a 
lower average level than that of the xtv century. 

Therefore, during this period and also during that of the fol- 
lowing xvii and xvii centuries derived from it, it is always 
less easy to find architectural and decorative expression that may 
with exact consistency be called characteristic of brick architec- 
ture. There abound multiple geometrical squares or ornamental 
facings of brick to form a background of the exposed sur- 
faces; and still more frequent than in preceding periods are 
examples of stone forms executed in brick or, as one might say, the 
translation into brick of architectural elements meant for stone. 
Among the most significant examples may be cited brick door 
and window openings very common in the Marches, as at Ma- 
cerata and Jesi, in which the brick is carefully cut according to 
exact patterns; or the brick columns so common in the archi- 
tecture of Borromini in Rome; or the fagades of xvit century 


XV 


Piedmont palaces at Turin, Mondovi, Asti, etc., where brick is 
used in the massive projecting coigns as well as in all the win- 
dows with their ornate and twisted carvings of the Baroque 
style. There are even examples, as in the vestibule vaults of the 
Royal Palace at Alessandria, in which the virtuosity of the artisans 
carving the brick went so far as to imitate rich stucco decora- 
tion. But, aside from these exceptional examples, it is precisely 
the advance of stucco technique that marks the end of decora- 
tive architecture in brick, as a means of current expression. 


From the xvi century on, buildings entirely of brick, in 
which the exterior indicates the interior construction, are more 
easily found in modest country structures, in which also there 
is so much artistic vitality and such possibilities of greater 
aesthetic development than in the more pretentious houses, ad- 
ministrative buildings, or churches of the cities where often the 
fictitious outer forms, concealing the inner structure, are no 
longer treated with refinement. 

Coming to the xrx century and the present time, we find 
that there are not wanting adaptations of brick architecture to 
new themes, in which experiments and attempts are made at 
obtaining a modern organic expression, both in the ease of exe- 
cution on the wall surface —a positive aesthetic element which 
always has a high value —and in the more or less direct rela- 
tion between technique and form. At times, these architec- 
tural experiments turn to the past and seek to draw from it, 
either by imitation or free treatment, new elements of beauty. 
At other times, the designer adheres to a pure constructive 
simplicity or else, by the use of other ornamental means in 
majolica, graffito, terra cotta, and mosaic, seeks to obtain 
combinations of entirely new effects. However, as in the mod- 
ern architecture of all countries which have been disturbed 
by the too rapid changes and the consequent possibilities of 
new developments, there is wanting a true unity of direction 
which has the force of a real style beyond the vagaries and 
oscillations of a passing fashion. 

By adhering to the real nature of a material and the proper 
uses inherent in it, as may be done in brick architecture, perhaps 


XVI 


it may prove less difficult to find the clue to a rational architec- 
tural expression. To this end, the present time is especially 
favorable when the great improvement in manufacturing tech- 
nique, afforded by mechanical progress, makes it possible to 
utilize the plastic qualities of clay to the best advantage in ob- 
taining uniform and standardized elements for use in wall sur- 
faces where varied patterns may be combined in decorative 
effects. Besides, the developed means of communication which 
characterize our cinematic civilization permit, for the first time 
since the days of the Roman Empire and in a much more effica- 
cious manner, the breaking up of localization in the use of ma- 
terials, and further the distribution of manufactured products 
over an extensive territory. 


For this reason, therefore, it may prove interesting and useful, 
not only for cultural reasons but also for those of a practical ar- 
tistic production, to review the various stages of the path tra- 
versed and seek out the continuity of Italian brick architecture 
through successive examples from ancient to modern times. In 
the complex life of a civilization, as in that of an enduring and 
famous architecture, the study that takes into account the evo- 
lution of one element and relates to it its various manifestations, 
as to acommon denominator, is a method always productive of 
fruitful results. Up to the present, no such study on the subject 
of brick has been made in the field of Italian architectural tra- 
dition, a field, however, which has been the object of many in- 
vestigations to establish stylistic classifications, to determine 
regional characteristics, or to illustrate individual accomplish- 
ments of distinguished artists. 


The present work, entrusted to two young scholars, Professor 
Carlo Roccatelli for the Ancient and the Renaissance periods, 
and Professor Enrico Verdozzi for the Medieval and Modern, 
follows the method indicated above but does not claim to be 
exhaustive. Its aim is to collect a number of examples, chosen 
from among the most notable and significant to be found in the 
different epochs of Italian art, and to provide them with an illus- 
trative treatment, partly synthetic and partly analytic, which 
will set forth the peculiar characteristics of each example and 


XVII 


trace the main lines of brick technology and art during the re- 
spective architectural and constructive epochs. 

A complete treatment of the subject would require much more 
space and time. Yet, although limited, the present work throws 
light on monuments which are still imperfectly known and in 
some of their details completely unedited. By systematic asso- 
ciation of ideas and by enriching the historical with the technical 
and artistic conceptions, the work will perhaps make a not in- 
considerable contribution to the progress of our knowledge of 
Italian architecture in the past, as well as aid in the determina- 
tion of new rational affirmations which will graft upon its trunk ~ 
young and sturdy shoots. 

As to bibliography, the treatises on the subject of Italian 
brick architecture, both as to construction and decoration are, 
up to the present time, few and incomplete, all of them with 
different aims and only incidentally dwelling on the present 
theme. Among the few works which deal with the technique and 
the technology of Italian brick in the various regions may be 
mentioned: G. REvERE, / Laterizi, Milan, 1907; Enciclopedia 
italiana delle arti e industrie, under the word Laterizi; FoRMENTI, 
La pratica del fabbricare, Milan, 1893-95, which treats also of the 
various earths, etc.; SALMoTRAGHI, Materiali naturali da costruz- 
tone, Milan, 1904. 

Of special interest among the publications which treat of the 
structural and decorative application of brick, during the various 
periods of Italian architecture, is the treatise of RuNGE, Beitrage 
zur Kenntniss der Bachstein-Architektur Italiens. Leipzig, 1884; 
special mention must also be made of GRUNER, Terra Colta 
Architecture of North Italy, 1867; Strack, Ziegelbauwerke des 
Mittelalters und der Renaissance in Italien, Berlin, 1889; STREET, 
Brick and Marble in the Middle Ages, 1874. 

Other data on the subject dealing with Italy may be found in 
chapters, or in sporadic treatment, in works of a more general 
scope; in treatises on architecture like those of Cloquet, Gaudet, 
and Milani; and in studies dealing with styles like ARcHINTI, 
Gli stilt dell’ Architettura, Milan, 1900; Cummines, A History of 
Architecture in Italy from the Time of Constantine to the Dawn of 

XVIII 


the Renaissance, Boston, 1901; ArTHUR KINGSLEY PoRTER, 
Lombard Architecture, 1912; Durm, Baukunst der Romer and 
Baukunst der Renaissance in Italien, 1898; PARKER, Archeology 
of Rome, ete. 

There may be consulted also VERDIER ET Catrtors, L’archi- 
tecture domestique au Moyen Age; GAILHABAUD, L’architecture 
du v-e au xvitt-e siecle et les arts qui en dependent; Melani, 
Manuale d’arte decorativa antica e moderna, Milan, 1907; ANDER- 
son, Examples of the Municipal, Commercial, and Street Architec- 
ture of France and Italy, 1877; etc. In the field of publications of 
a general character pertaining to brick from the decorative point 
of view, CHABAT, La brique et la terrecuite (Etude Historique) 
Paris, 1881-90; Lacroux ET Detain, Construction en briques, 
Paris, 1886; etc., will prove of interest. Fuller bibliographical 
particulars dealing with the subject from a stylistic and historical 
point of view will be found in the notes of Roccatelli and Ver- 
dozzi. 

Comm. Pror. GusTAvo GIOVANNONI 


Engineer and Professor of Architecture, Royal School of Applied 
Engineering; Professor of Restorations, Superior Royal 
School of Architecture; Member of the 
Superior Council of Fine Arts. 


XIX 


e, 


« 


_ 





ia; t.-16 
Oo, b24 
45, top 
46, l. 7 in note 


VPPEPRVPPPDD 
Nn 
> 
Lo) 
avg 


Plate 19, l. 8 

Plates 35 and 39 
Plate 89, 1. 8 

Plates 120, 122, 127 
Plate 142 

Plate 146 





ERRATA 


for 2.2 
for 25 


for MIDDLE AGES 


for parapetted 


for Fig. 


for size 

for Imole 

for San 

for 1.8 

for delle Erbe 
for Borbini 
for Paletine 
for Peranesi 
for Giovannie 
for Sepulcre 
for Gaete 

for Cappocci 


read 3.2 

read 26 

read ANCIENT TIMES 
read parapeted 
read Figs. 

read length 
read Imola 
read Sant’ 
read 1.6 

read dell’ Erbe 
read Borboni 
read Palatine 
read Piranesi 
read Giovanni 
read Sepulchre 
read Gaeta 
read Capocci 


SO CALLED: 


Rosso. 


VIA -AP 








Ancient Etruscan Frieze in Natural Terra Cotta 


BRICK IN ROMAN ANTIQUITY 


MANUFACTURE AND SIZES 


HE very serious deficiencies in the study of ancient art and 

technique, and still more the prejudices and false premises 
which have guided scholars up to the present, do not permit of 
obtaining clear and reliable information regarding brick manu- 
facture in antiquity. The numerous, though unfortunately ill- 
preserved, remains of Etruscan, Latin, and Campanian con- 
structions prove that brick and especially architectural terra 
cotta were in use before the vi century B. C. 

The discovery of ancient dies used in preparing the orna- 
mental terra cotta of the ancient Italic temples (di Vignale, 
det Sasst Cadutt, etc.),! and the examination of the material 
itself, lead us to believe that brick, tiles, and terra cotta were 
made by means of moulds and dies, and dried and burned by a 
process differing little from that of today, leaving out of consider- 
ation, of course, the use of modern machinery and kilns. 

An important observation, made by Della Seta,” and easily 
verified by a direct examination of the materials, is that, as far 
back as these times as well as later throughout the entire Roman 
period, pozzolana* was used with clays as a reducing material 
for burned bricks and, according to Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, 
chopped straw for bonding in sun-baked bricks. 


*A siliceous volcanic dust containing ferric oxide, alum, chalk, and magnesia, deriving 
its name from Pozzuoli, near Naples, where it was first utilized; afterwards found in great 
beds on the Roman Campagna. Vitruvius gives an interestingly curious account of it in 
II, 6 of his treatise. Mixed with lime and water it makes a strong, enduring cement. [Ed.] 


1. WesGE: Fuhrer durch die Sim. Klass. Alterttimer in Roma, II, p. 341. 
Dexa Seta: Museo di Villa Giulia, pp. 182-187. 
2. DELLA SETA: op. cit., p. 128. 


2 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Vitruvius, who flourished in the days of Julius Caesar and 
Octavianus (Agustus, to whom he dedicated his work, De Archi- 
tectura), does not give us much information concerning the 
manufacture of brick. He says only! that there were in use 
lateres, that is, sun-baked bricks, and lateres cocti or testacet which 
were burned. He does give us, however, a list of the various 
types of brick then in use, and also their dimensions. They 
are the so-called Greek Lydium, one by one and a half feet* 
(Fig. 1); the Tetradoron, a brick four palms square; and the 
Pentadoron, five palms squarey. I[t is evident from these 
names that the practice in brickmaking among the Romans was 
at first greatly influenced by the Greeks, although their own practi- 
cal genius subsequently introduced many other sizes and forms. 

Aside from the three types of brick just mentioned, Vitru- 
vius further speaks of half-bricks*? in a passage much dis- 
cussed by scholars up to the present day, since it may be inferred 
that the bricks were cut into halves, either along a line parallel 
to one side, thus obtaining two rectangular bricks, or along a 
diagonal line, giving two triangular bricks. The latter might 
easily be inferred from the immense quantities of triangular brick 
found in Roman construction. But the question of Vitruvius’ 
meaning may be con- 
sidered as solved when 
we call to mind that 
the use of triangular 
brick first appeared 
in Rome with the con- 
structions of Claudius (41-54 a. D.) and hence at a period later 
than Vitruvius. Besides, Ortiz y Sanz*® observes that if Vitru- 
vius had had in mind triangular bricks, he would have called 





0.296 0.296 
Fic. 1. Roman Brick, the Lydium, after Rivoira. 


*The Roman foot usually given as 29.6 cm. or 11.6 inches. The Lydium, according to 
Vitruvius, was commonly used by the Romans. The Greeks used the Pentadoron for 
public and the Tetradoron for private buildings. [Ed.] 

}Rivoira gives the dimensions of the Pentadoron as one and a quarter feet, the foot 
taken as 30.9 cm. [12.17 in.]. This makes the ‘“‘palm”’ 7.7 cm. [3.03 in.] and consequently 
the Tetradoron 30.9 in. or a fraction more than the Roman foot as previously given. Vitruv- 
ius does not indicate the thickness of the brick but Rivoira refers to a Pentadoron used at 
ancient Medma in the Campagna that measured in thickness 9 cm. or 3.54 in. He also 
refers to Roman brick one foot long, a half foot wide, and a quarter foot thick as surmised by 
certain writers on the subject (Architettura Romana p. 21).  [Ed.] 


1. Vitruvius: I, 5; II, 3-8; V, 10; VII, 4; VIII, 3° 2. Vrenuvivsooen te 
3. Ornitz y Sanz: Los diez libros de Architettura de M. Vitruvio Pollion. p. 33. 


ANCIENT TIMES 3 


them lateres trigones and not semilateres.* In addition to the 
above mentioned bricks, Vitruvius refers also to the laterculi 
besales, bricks about eight inches square, or two-thirds of a foot. 
But, aside from the data fur- 
nished by Vitruvius, we may 
be sure that brick dimensions 
were variously modified 





: Fic. 2. Vitruvian Bond, after Reb 
throughout the long centuries a Moteantn Viteeide fae 


of Roman civilization.t 
Besides brick, very naturally, tiles were manufactured for 
roofing, both curved and flat, the dimensions of which varied 


from 38-77 cm. [15-30 in.] in 
length and from 28-56 cm. [11- 
22 in.] in breadth (Fig. 3). 
Especially in the 1 and 11 cen- 
turies A. D., not infrequently, 
brick were used which had been 
originally manufactured as flat 
roof tiles and afterwards trans- 
formed into bricks by cutting 
off their edges and smoothing 
Fie. 3. Roofing Tile. them on slabs of stone. The 


*In Book II, Cap. III, 4, Vitruvius tells us clearly how the whole and half brick (semi- 
lateres) were used in bonding. In the same course, the whole brick are laid on one face of 
the wall and the half brick on the other. In the next course this order is reversed and so 
on alternately, at the same time breaking the vertical joints as in modern brickwork. 
“This lends strength,”’ he adds, ‘and a not unattractive appearance to both sides of the 
wall” (Fig 2). In the following paragraph he commends the Greek practice in stone 
work which is similar to the well-known method of bricklaying, and that is “‘to bind the 
upright joints by interchanging the direction of the stones as they lie in the courses. Thus 
they attain to a perfection that will endure to eternity.” [Ed.] 


tAs illustrating the great variety of brick sizes used by the Romans, may be cited the 
following examples, the dimensions being given in centimeters (cm. = 0.3937 in.): Forum 
at Pompeii, 2.5 x 26 x 12 (1 x 10.3 x 4.7 in.) with arch brick 38 long (15 in.); Museum 
at Palermo, 10.5 x 34.5 x 18 (4 x 13.6 x 7 in.); Greek Theatre at Taormina, 5-10 x 28-49 x 
14-35 (2-4 x 11-19 x 5.5-13.8 in.); Greek Theatre at Catania, 5-8.5 x 48-52 x 35 (2-3.4 x 18.9- 
20.5 x 13.8 in.). At Girgenti the fragment of an old pavement is seen laid herringbone 
fashion with very small brick 2 x 15 x 7 (0.8 x 5.9 x 2.8 in.) antedating, it is thought, the 
same sort of work in the Roman Forum. In Rome, every size is found from the very small 
brick just mentioned to the enormous 60 cm. bipedales (two feet). The thickness, however, 
does not average much over an inch and a half, running from 2.5 cm., hardly an inch, as 
found in the beautiful red brick of the Columbaria on the Latin Way, to 6 cm., something 
over two and a third inches, as found in Hadrian’s Villa. The thick brick of the Greek 
Theatre at Taormina are again found at Ravenna in the tomb of Galla Placidia of the 
V century, where they measure from 9 to 10 cm. in thickness (3.9 in.), as well as later in 
some examples of the Middle Ages. See foot note, page 47. [Ed.] 





1. Virruvius: op. cit., V, 10. 


‘4 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


use of these fegulae fractae [broken tiles] is supposed to have 
originated from the convenience of utilizing the material gathered 
from the ruins of great fires from which Rome suffered not 
a little.* 

From the times of Claudius, and during the following cen- 
turies, triangular bricks were much used. They were obtained 
by cutting the above-mentioned latercult besales, before burning, 
along a diagonal line, thus producing bricks approximately 
20 x 20 x 30 cm. [7.9 x 11.8 in.] and then bisecting these last, 
giving a size of about 15 x 15 x 20 cm. [5.9 x 7.9 in.] as shown 
in Fig. 4. On the dimensions and uses of brick in antiquity, we 
have today much information and detailed classification; but 
attempts to give this a strictly chronological value must be 
regarded with great reserve.’ 

An interesting peculiarity found in Roman brick and tile, 
from the middle of the 1 century on, and which undoubtedly 
originated in the Orient, is the seals or trade-marks impressed 
upon them (Fig. 5). These marks, besides possessing a very 





039 Ziff. eg 
Vs’ 27> 
Lili. Lif e) fil 


Byer — 020 





a 





Fic. 4. The Laterculi Besali, cut into triangular bricks, after Rivoira. 


great chronological and topographical interest, often reveal the 
source from which the clay was taken, and the place and date 


*Although kiln burnt brick at Rome began to be made in the Sullan period (138-78 
B. C.) they did not gain wide and exclusive use until the days of the early Emperors. But 
though up to this time vast quantities of sun-baked or adobe brick were used for building, 
the roof tiles were necessarily kiln burned to endure the weather, in consequence of which 
floods or conflagrations left them still usable as building material. Vitruvius made the test 
of well burned brick, their use on a roof where they are ‘‘exposed to bad weather and time”’ 
(Book II, Cap. VIII, 19). In view of their durability it was natural that roof tile should be 
utilized in reconstructions, for the entire surface of the wall, instead of adobe brick. It was 
natural also that, aside from safety in drying and burning, the thinness of the tiles used 
for facing walls should establish a practice for the subsequent manufacture of the long thin 
Roman brick. Perhaps it was the structural use of the salvaged flat tile that led to the man- 
ufacture of the large standardized square brick known as sesquipedales (45 x 45 cm., a 
foot and a half) and bipedales (60 x 60 cm., two feet), the latter used extensively for bond- 
ing the wall and for arches. [Ed.] 


1. Van Denman: ‘Methods of Determining the Date of Roman Concrete Monu- 
ments” in the American Journal of Archaeology, second series, 1912, Vol. 16. 
J.T. Parker: De variis structurae generibus praelectio. 


¥ 


ANCIENT TIMES 5 


of manufacture, etc.* They were of various forms — circular, 
semi-circular, crescent-shaped, or rectangular—and testify by 
their great variety how numerous the brick factories must have 
been.! 


Brick IN CONSTRUCTION 


The use of brick construction in Roman antiquity, con- 
trary to what a superficial observer might believe, was very 
widespread, indeed one might say almost general (Plates 2-6). 
Passing by the well known, venerable monuments of Roman art, 
the notable character of which demanded in their exterior forms 
the use of stone and marble, let us seek rather to obtain a close 
view of the familiar life of Rome by turning our attention to those 
elements which, up to our day, 
have been so much neglected 
| 4 as to seem foreign to the class- 
ee" sical world as known to us. 

In fact, by observing the 
| SNS humbler class of buildings, 
a 229 those in which the activities of 

oS oes every-day life were carried on, 
those quarters of the ancient 
city inhabited by the middle 
class, by merchants and work- 

| ee eee ee men with their houses, shops, 
Nation’ Muscum of Fine Arisand Aniiguies, and taverns, where in short 
Fis), eee on Brick. E ulsed the real life of antig- 
uity, we experience a complete 

transformation of the idea we had formed of ancient architecture by 
our observation of stately temples and sumptuous .public edifices. 


Dize cox o2.9 X 16. cm. (2.2 x 12.8 x 6:3 in.) 








: sy 





re 


*M. Ch. Descemet—Jnscriptions Doliares Latines, Paris 1880—shows brick stamps 
with consular dates from 76 B. C. to as late as 554 A. D., although nearly half of 
them belong to Hadrian’s time. Marini’s list, contains 5000 inscriptions and yet is not 
exhaustive. This practice was found in Italy outside of Rome as early as 75 B. C. but not 
in Rome itself before the days of Trajan. These stamps are very diverse and variously 
indicate: the owner of the clay pit; the factory where made, perhaps its owner; the date; 
the merchant that sold them; the destination; the construction served; or a claim of quality. 
Sometimes the center of the stamp bore a head of Mercury, an ox skull, the figure of an 
animal, a bird, an insect, or a palm leaf. See Dennie, Rome of Today and Yesterday, Put- 
nam’s, New York, 1910, p. 281 ff. [Ed.] 


1. A collection of these stamps, showing great erudition, is that of Gaetano Marini, 
Iscrizioni antiche dolari, published under the direction of G. B. De Rossi, Rome, 
1884. Cf. also the Corpus inscriptionum latinarum, Vol. XV. ParkERr, op. cit. 


6 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





Puatre 3. Great Arch of Theatre Entrance, Ostia. 


ANCIENT TIMES 7 





Puate 4. Fluted Brick Columns, Puate 5. Round Brick Column, Forum, 
Great Basilica, Pompeii. Pompeii. 





: : ‘ = aes ae P See. . 3 ses : 
Courtesy of Comm. Prof. Vittorio Spinazzola, Naples, Supt. of Monuments, etc., for Southern Italy. 


Puate 6. Elliptical Brick Columns, Porticus Tullianus, Pompeii. 


8 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


The excavations at Ostia, even more than those at the less 
commercial and more tranquil Pompeu, shed great light upon the 
subject. We see in fact how general was the use of brick and 
how it afforded many solutions in construction and admirable 
decorative effects, while the use of cut stone was, as today, only 
an exception. 

And if the evidence of ancient constructions themselves is 
not sufficient, Vitruvius reminds us of their value,’ by praising 
the structures of brick as worthy of being the dwellings of kings. 
While burned brick were used in buildings within the city of 
Rome, he tells us why sun-baked brick should not be used and 
then gives rules for their use in construction outside the city. 
Dion Cassius? informs us of the disastrous effects of the inun- 
dations of the Tiber upon the many buildings of sun-baked 
brick, and finally Suetonius* relates how Augustus was able to 
boast that he had received a Rome of brick but had left it one 
of marble. | 

Going back to origins, we find, as one of the very first known 
examples of brick construction, the Etruscan walls of Arezzo, 
mentioned by Vitruvius (in Italia Arretio vetustum egregie 
factum murum), built of burned brick with the facing so well 
executed as to cause Caporali* of Perugia to write in 1536, 
nearly two thousand years after its construction: “Arezzo pos- 
sesses a wall of brick so excellently worked by hammer and laid 
that one can hardly see the mortar joints between them; more- 
over the brick are so well burned that the color is absolutely 
uniform.’ All this proves, at least indirectly, how widespread 
was the use of brick before the days of the Empire, and suggests 
how important had been both Greek and Tuscan influence. 


W ALLS 


Without going into a too minute chronological analysis, let 
us examine the use of brick in the various types of wall structure. 
In the construction of bearing walls,®> the Romans certainly did 
not have a uniform type either at a given period or in a given 
locality. If up to the close of the 1 century s. c. Hellenistic 

1. Virruvius: op, cit. II, 8. 2. Dion Cassrus: Storia Romana, XXXIX, 61. 


3. Sueronuts: II, 28. 4. Rivorra: Architetlura Romana, p. 3. 
5. G. GIOVANNONI: Costruzione ed ingegneria presso i Romani. 


ANCIENT TIMES 9 


and Etruscan tradition led to the frequent adoption of wall con- 
struction in squared stone, nevertheless, the peculiar methods 
adopted by the building crafts soon caused the widespread use 
of walls built of a conglomerate enclosed between facings of 
other material, a type which became characteristic of Roman 
construction. ‘The great thickness of these walls made possible 
the rapid execution of the work and a marked economy. While 
the master masons, with care and skill, built the exterior surfaces 
of brick so as to form a sort of encasement, the common laborers 
carried on the work of filling in the caementum, a conglomerate 
formed of successive courses of mortar and rough unshaped 
stones which were tamped down as the work progressed.* 

_ This type of construction, however widespread its use, is 
not to be regarded as the only one known. In fact, there are 
not wanting examples of walls, of no great thickness, built 
entirely of brick; and walls of mixed masonry, as well, consisting 
of brick and dressed stone. 

The remains of pre-Augustan constructions, unfortunately 
not very noteworthy, are the first examples of the caementum 
wall construction.’ At first, we see appear the so-called structura 
testacea, a wall faced on both sides with broken tiles, smoothed 
on the outer edge after chipping off the flanges, and filled in with 
caementum between the two facings, without transverse brick 
bonding courses (Fig. 6). The bonding of the interior nucleus to 
the exterior brick facing was entrusted to the good quality of the 
mortar and to the rough irregular inner surface of the broken 


*This opus caementum so called, was rough work of broken stones, pieces of brick 
and tile, and later even fragments of marble, laid more or less irregularly in a plentiful 
supply of pozzolana mortar. Vitruvius, who did not know its complete development, con- 
demned its use in his day, as compared with the sounder Greek practice (Book II, Cap. 
VIII, 7). It is not difficult to conjecture that the practical Roman builders, recognizing the 
durable solidity of the caementum work, soon learned to economize both in material and 
time by saving the stone for the outer surface of podium or wall which in the mass could 
be done more quickly and cheaply in the caementum work, and done enduringly, in spite 
of the Vitruvian dictum. In a sense, the extensive pozzolana beds of the Roman Campagna 
made imperial Rome possible. This opus caementum, bonded through its thickness and 
protected at angles and around openings by brick, needed surfacing or a cortina (curtain) 
either for appearance or for a better surface to take the plaster. Hence marble, stone, 
small tufo blocks (in case of incertum or reticulatum work) or, most extensively of all, 
brick were used for facing. While the stone facing was sometimes plastered, it was in the 
main to the tufo and brick surfaces that stucco was applied, though many examples of fine 
brickwork are found which the original builders meant to be exposed because of its finished 
beauty. [Ed.] 


1. G. GIOVANNONI: op. cit. 


10 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


brick or tile. We have an example of this type of construction 
in the tomb of the Platorini’ of the Republican period, recon- 
structed in the National Museum 
at Rome. The borders of openings, 
and angles of walls, however, were 
built entirely of brick. 

Under Tiberius (14-37 A.D.) this 
construction appeared in an im- 
proved form; the two faces of the 
wall were bonded together, depend- 
ing on the building or the builder, 
all the way from every fifth up to 
every seventeenth course by large 
square bricks, the tetradoron or pen- 

eee Sata Seay or Opus tadoron. Examples of this work 

may be found at Rome in the Domus 

Tiberiana on the Palatine (Fig. 7), and in the walls of the Castro 

Pretorio in which latter we have also a first example, although a 

very simple one, of face brickwork with decorative cornices, 
loopholes, and battlements (F lieu): 





The external facing, however, was much more commonly 
built of triangular bricks with the apex laid inward, thus making 
an excellent bond with the internal caementum nucleus, which 
was then crossed at 
regular intervals by 















horizontal courses of NOUN . 
large bonding bricks : ae Saat Fatt \\ 

e vA i Rye NS ats Ve s fis eo “9 rT erin 
or tiles through the yoy SO NEA Shur ri 


iY 


kX TLL CI, OE 
0 \ oun uN \ oo Te 
- +74 x corantowayepnubi nud 
ro Yo 7%. ; aoe 
Wes ch 


Tivpelinaw ess meet! 


Ne ei T8 

. eras mee 

OX, Taneroane ycoseaninanantes Cote 
Bs om pene 8 0) 






entire thickness of ; 
the wall (Fig. 9). ~~ \ 
The use of these 


triangular bricks, \ eee 
beginning in theo shia Opus Testaceum, from the ‘Domus Tiberiana”’ 


tim es of Glan ARIE on the Palatine, Rome, after Rivoira. 

as already noted, spread widely; for, besides offering a better 
bond with the nucleus and a more uniform appearance on the 
wall face, it obviously afforded greater economy of material. 


Ia PARIBENI E Berretti: Bollettino d’Arte del Minestero della Pubblica Istruzione, 
1911, folio X. LanctANI; Notizie Scavt, 1880, p. 127; 1883, p. 372. 















Oy 


oar ree 


= * 
art es SE 





Pate 


ANCIENT TIMES 11 


Another type of wall structure was the opus reticulatum* 
in which, however, brick played only a small part. Here the 
facing on the caementum nucleus was made up of little cubical 
blocks of tufo laid with the sides at 45° to the perpendicular. 
At intervals there were framing squares of brick, and brick pro- 


jections, corners, architraves, arches, 
and the like. This type of construc- 
tion was in use from the time of Sulla 
(138-78 B. Cc.) to that of Hadrian 
(117-138 A.D.) after which it quickly 
disappeared. Although this type of 
wall was almost always covered with 
architectural decoration in cut stone 
or stucco, it presented nevertheless 
when exposed, quite a pleasing and 
decorative appearance (Plates 7-8). 
Many very beautiful examples of it 
are in existence, among which are 
several tombs of the time of Claudius 
at Ostia. 

Passing over other related types 
of wall, which have no direct bearing 





_ Fie. 9. Triangular Brick and 
Structural Bonding. Italy. 













































































Fic. 8. Loophole and Cornice, 
Castro Pretorio, Rome. 


on our subject, we finally men- 
tion however the opus mizxtum. 
This form of construction is 
composed either of alternate 
courses of brick and squared stone 
(Fig. 10), a type which appeared 
after Hadrian and developed very 
ereatly in the age of Constan- 
tine, or of brick and cobble 
stones laid herringbone fashion, 
opus spicatum (Fig. 11), a 
type quite common in Northern 


*This reticulatum manner doubtless was a development, on aesthetic grounds, of the 
opus incertum, irregular work (or inseritum, inserted work), of the late Republic, in which 
the small tufo pieces were introduced irregularly after the fashion of rubble work. The 
latter, Vitruvius regarded more durable than the reticulatum, though not as attractive. 


Book II, Cap. VIII, 1. [Ed.] 


12 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


ARCHES 


Not entering into a discussion of the form of arches, almost al- 
ways semi-circular or segmental, we note first of all that their 
construction was directly connected with that of the wall and 
took on rather an external organic 
expression. Brick arches were 
generally built of bipedales, the 
larger tile-like brick two feet 
square, and show more or less 
careful workmanship. At times, 
in order to obtain perfect exe- 
cution and to make the mortar 
joints uniformly thin throughout 
the entire face of the arch, cunei- 
form or wedge-shaped bricks were 

SSS used, as in the Colosseum. In 
Ese arches of considerable size or sub- 

ono OneM unten ject to heavy weight, it was cus- 

tomary to adopt the double con- 

centric type of arch which permitted a better and more regular 

adjustment of the wall mass. Characteristic examples of these 

arches are found in the Pantheon, in the Basilica of Maxentius,* ° 
and elsewhere (Plates 9-14). 

More often arches were of a mixed construction, brick upon 
the faces and concrete in the interior. ‘Then almost always the 
nucleus of concrete had at intervals bipedales or sesquipedales in 
horizontal courses set radially, which bonded together the two 
external arch faces; or perhaps, in addition, there were other 
arches in the interior of the nucleus, always bonded together by 
large tiles, thus forming a network of brick compartments into 
which the caementum was placed (Fig. 12). In this manner the 
interior forces were distributed and the curve of pressure fixed. 
One of the first examples of this type of construction is that of 
the Claudian archesf on the Caelian Hill at Rome? (Fig. 13). 


*This structure was modified and completed by Constantine, the victorious rival of 
Maxentius, and hence is generally known as the Basilica of Constantine. [Ed.j 

tAs Nero completed and extended the Claudian aquaduct for his Golden House, these 
arches are frequently named the Neronian Arches. 








1. Lancrani: I commentari di Frontino,—atti della R. Accademia dei Lincet, Series 3, 
Vol. 4. pp. 364-374. Cuorsy: L’art de batir chez les Romains. 


ANCIENT TIMES 113) 





pei EOE SE: 


Puate 7. Corners of Opus Mixtum with Puate 8. Brickwork Ornamented with 
Reticulatum Wall, Pompeii. Reticulatum, Pompeii. 


Another use of brick may be mentioned as a typically Ro- 
man architectural motive and that is string courses or archi- 
traves combined with semi-circular relieving arches, and also 
relieving arches incorporated in the wall structure, either to 
concentrate the stresses at determined points of the foundations 
or to obtain a better and more uniform adjustment of the wall 
mass. Of these we have any number of examples (Plates 15-18). 























TowQu Wen cages 
(B20 GOCOLIEVOYIO ‘ 
SOIOUSILOOGS The vault, a typical element of Roman 


Saas ee architecture, of which it forms the princi- 
WWWIAOIHAVS pal characteristic, was always the object of 
DOAULYOOLI@SO assiduous care and study on the part of 
Be Sea the ancient builders. In it we see brick 

SS SSS] assume a great and special importance be- 
cause of its varied and ingenious appli- 
3 cations. The typical construction of the 
Roman vault was of the nature of the caementum work, 


already described', which suited admirably the organization 


1. GIOVANNONT: op. cit. 


























Fic. 11. Opus Spicatum 


14 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


of Roman labor and in which we 


may easily recog- 


nize the archetype of our modern concrete construction. 





Fig. 12. Arch Faces Bonded with Bipedales 


due to even the slightest settling of the 
would cause immediate and very serious 


builders strove constantly to 
eliminate these disadvantages, 
and the history of this con- 


struction offers numerous exped-: 


ients devised for this purpose. 
One of the most common of these 
aimed at the elimination of the 
complicated wooden centering 
which necessarily had to form 
a continuous and complete sup- 
port, held up by very strong 
braces. It consisted of a vault 
or casing of brick laid flat, alter- 
nating from time to time with 
brick laid on edge, and bonded 
with quick-setting mortar so as 
to form a sort of template 
which, besides giving the form 
of the vault, supported the layer 





To the unques- 
tionable advan- 
tages of this sys- 
tem —economy 
and rapidity of 
construction — 
were opposed the 
inconveniences 
which arose from 
the necessity of 
using strong sup- 
ports during con- 
struction and 
from the dangers 


foundation which 
injury. However, 


As 


aN 
aN 


Ss 


AY 


pom 


As 


— 


———_—— 
=.= 

———S= 

———— 


Fic. 13. Double Ring Brick Arch, 
Claudian Acqueduct, Rome, 


of concrete with which it at once bonded. (Fig. 14.) 
The first examples of the kind known, we have in the Colos- 


se See 
SS ee Tasks ans 
a ae Y 

i a! 












ms os Via ee 


roan 3 hy 









ANCIENT TIMES 15 


we 





< 


Piate 10. A Great Arch at Base of Pantheon, Rome. 





Puate 11. Central Bay of North Aisle, Basilica of Constantine, Rome. 


16 


Pa 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





Forum side, Rome. 


ine, on 


Wall and Arches of Palat 


ining 


. 


PLATE 12. Reta 


*yseq] SULYOO'T ‘oWOY "489 AA SULYOO'T ‘oWIOYy 
‘gurye[e@q 94} JO JOON ‘eAON] BIA 94} JO SOWDIY YOU “pl ALVIg ‘ouryeeq oY} JO WOOT “BAOKN] RIA VY} JO SoyITY YOU “E[ ALVIG 


8 ‘ AEE mt 


t~ 
4 






ANCIENT TIMES 


18 


seum. Later imposing ex- 
amples are such as those 
in Hadrian’s Villa near 
Tivoli, in the Baths of 
Caracalla, etc. Others of 
particular interest may 
be found in the houses at 
Ostia, which, though 
more modest, were some- 
times built of a double 
layer of brick as if to af- 
ford greater assurance of 
their resistance to the 





on N AN 
\\ 
11 R \y on VEE WN 
\ rt 
NY \ \\ 
NN \\ K \ 
if Awe “ AN i 
YS SNS 
ea a 
9 IM, oe : Yi 
13 lly. SIN 




























































mle i ipl {OD POW ee 


— 






im 
Pn ae ae 
SA es SS iil 


Fic. 15. Rudenentare Groining, Colosseum, 
Rome. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





Fic. 14. Brick Centering for Arch 


heavy weight of concrete put 
upon them. 

An expedient devised to 
lighten the concrete mass 
of the vault and consequent- 
ly to diminish the weight 
upon the piers was the in-, 
sertion of terra cotta amphor- 
ae or wine jars, especially 
in the groins, sometimes set 
irregularly, as in the Stabian 
Baths at Pompeii, in the 
Villa det Gordiant at Rome, 
etc.; at other times with a 
more definite constructive 
method, as those at Pompeii,’ 
and especially later in the 
constructions of the mr and 
Iv centuries. “lo be histori- 
cally correct, however, we 
must remember that the first 


use of earthenware jars in the interior of wall masses, although fol- 
lowing different principles, was made at Aosta in the Augustan age.” 
Another improvement, in connection, with the use of brick 


1. OvERBECK: Pompei und seine Bauten. 


2. C. Promis: Le antichitd di Aosta. 


ANCIENT TIMES 19 





PuatE 16. Temple of the Divus Augustus, Western Side of the Palatine, Rome. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


-aUIOY ‘UINESsojOTD Ut Uses Se ‘YOIY SULAoIPOY VY “ST aALVIg 


“guioy ‘ourepeg oy} 0} 


wnJO 24} 


wo dwey “2. ALVIg 








paid 





ANCIENT TIMES 21 






Fic. 17. Brick Groin at Crossings, as 
in Baths of Diocletian, after Durm. 


in vaulting, introduced on 
constructive principles of 
a different nature, was that 
of subdividing vaults and 
cupolas into bearing arches 
of brick with intermediate 
fillings. The bearing skele- a eae Be eas 
ton was compose dof brick Fic. 16. ae eas in Basilica 
ribs set along the transverse 

lines of the vault, along the diagonals of the crossing, or 
along the meridians of the cupola, thus directing the thrusts 
and concentrating 
them at the more 
resistant points of the 
pliers. 

The disposition of 
these ribs in vaults 
was extremely varied 
and improved gradu- 
ally with the prog- 
ress of the static 
concept in construc- 
tion. From simple 
brick semi-circles in 


mas PRES: barrel vaults and 
PuaTtE 20. A Ribbed Crossing, Villa Sette Bassi, Via * 
Latina, after Rivoira. from rudimentary 


22 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


groinings, of which one of the first examples is found in the 
Colosseum! (Fig. 15), we see the gradual development of this 
principle in the diagonal ribs of intersecting vaults with ingenious 






a disposition of the bricks 
pee oN. as, for example, in the 
a Seis a Arch of Janus Quadri- 

S eS > ee 2 oe ° 
RL SS FSF ee \ frons, in the palace of 
W SS SSE? * ‘ea 
SS Ss s FF 222 A Septimius Severus on 
va Bas F- S$ Ss32-2 “the Palatine, in the 
SeaS Sa = 2 Z ae \ e e ° 
aE Sot. ae Sn SO rag et A ee \ Baths of Diocletian (Fig. 
Se eS ee i : 
— Reece Soe eee : 17), etc.2 At times these 
Wp ESOS SOLES SES ° © 


9 
(6) 
0 
Q 
0 
) 
AN} 


ribs project, as in Villa 
det Sette Bassi (Plate 
20),°> as if to anticipate 
the classical type of 
crossings in Lombard 
architecture, until they 

; «develop into the ribs of 
Fic. 18. Brick Ribs in Dome of Sibylline Temple, cupolas as in the Sepul- 


Tivoli. 
sie chre of the Calventii, in 
the Temple of Portunno at Porto,‘ etc. These groinings, in which 


we may perhaps see the germ of that conception which found 
full development and — 


perfect application in 
the marvelous cupolas 
of our Renaissance 
and successive epochs, 
had their stylistic ex- 
pression in the coffer- 
ing or paneling at the 
time when the cupola 
was introduced (Fig. 
18). At times these 
ribs do not mark the 
meridians of the cu- 
pola but are interlaced 








Fic.19. Herringbone Paving with Small Brick, Roman 
Forum. 


1. Rivorra: op. cit. 2. GIOvANNONI: op. cit. 3. Nipsy: Analisi della carta dei 
dintorni di Roma, III, pp. 734-737. LANcIANI: Quatre dessins inedits de la collec- 
tion Destailleur relatifs aux ruins de Rome. Asupy: The Villa Called Sette Bassi. 
4. Montano: Disegni di vari tempietti ricavati dall’ antico. 


ANCIENT TIMES 23 


as in the apse of the Temple of Venus and Roma at Rome (Plate 
19) and as appears from some drawings of Renaissance artists. 

Finally, we may note among many others, two particular 
uses of brick. Pave- 
ments which were gen- 
erally made either of 
large flat tiles or of 
very small bricks set 
on edge in herringbone 


fashion (Fig. 19), and ===7—9f =i 
the wall surfaces of = al LP yi 
baths (laconicum and —~ 

calidarium) were con- 
structed of one-celled 
hollow bricks, generally 
fete 33 cm. [2.2 x 
5x 13 1n.] in size, which 
afforded passage for the 
circulation of smoke 
and hot air (Fig. 20). This ingenious and widespread system 
of heating which is found at Pompeii was first extens- 
ively applied in Hadrian’s Villa near Tivoli and later in 
the Baths of Caracalla and of Diocletian at Rome. 





Fic. 20. ee in Pompeiian Bathe 


BRICK IN 
DECORATION 


As already indicat- 
ed, brick was used 


ee) oe ee 
) aoe most ancient times, 
— ‘<5 Saal not only in construct- 
, : ion but also for ex- 
OSU IU fete eevee 
cca es \ pecially in buildings 

* Fig. 21. Moulded and Cut Brick, as at Ostia. of the modest arch- 


1. Il libro di Giuliano da Sangallo, Codice Barberiniano, Vat. Lat. No. 4424. 
Disegni della Galleria degli Uffizi, No. 1330. 





24 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


itectural type where the real life of the common people and of , 
the middle classes was unfolded in all its manifestations. Un- 
fortunately, there exist only rare and gow remains of 
these buildings which, just because they 
lacked public or monumental character, 
were not only more or less neglected but 
suffered greatly during frequent periods 
of reconstruction, as well as from the 
trying vicissitudes of the centuries, and 
hence more readily disappeared in the 
course of time. 

However, the remains of widely scat- 
tered tombs in the environs of Rome, the 
edifices brought to light at Pompeii and 
preserved (at least in their essential parts) 
through the terrible caprices of nature, 
and still more the excavations at Ostia, 
prove to us that brick and terra cotta 
were widely used for purposes of decoration. In fact, along 
with the monumental architecture of imposing temples and 
sumptuous public edifices, covered with rich decorations in stone 
and marble, we see developed 
a real architecture in — brick 
and terra cotta. In_ houses, 
shops, taverns, and sepulchral 
edifices, brick was used for 
wall surfaces artistically 
done, for simple and re- 
fined cornices, for panels, 
and the like. And often 
with special bricks (Fig. 
21), cut in ovoli, dentils, 
palm-leaves, scales, etc., 
cleverly adapted, there 
were formed brackets, 
elaborate cornices, lonic, 
Corinthian, and Com- 
posite capitals (Figs. 22, 
Fic. 23. Bases of Brick Columns, as at Ostia. 23), and in general all the 





Fic. 22. Brick Entablature, 
as at Ostia. 


































































































































































































































































































































































ia ANCIENT TIMES 


i) 
qn 











aS takes 


Pompeii. 


ESE 


PuavE 21. Temple of Augustus, 





motives and varied compositions of classical architecture which 
showed that the use of brick held no secret for those accom- 
plished builders of ancient Rome. 

Sometimes, alongside of this richer decoration, we see walls 
adorned with simple panelings, cornices, etc., which give them 
a very pleasing relief and a harmonious aspect (Plate 21). 
Often the effect of polychromy was cleverly exploited chiefly 
by the use of yellow, red, and brown bricks, which were at times 
intermingled without any definite aim, as in the Anfiteatro 
Castrense (Plate 25). More frequently, however, by following 
an exact decorative method, the color scheme was attained 
by building the projections of the wall, generally the architectural 
orders, of light-colored bricks and the background of darker 
ones or vice versa. Often the frieze stood out, because of the 
yellow color of its bricks, in contrast with the reddish browns 
of the architrave and cornice. Quite frequent also was the 
use of decorative terra cotta, moulded with rare skill and ex- 
quisite artistic sense, which gave a peculiar beauty and vivacity 
to the entire architectural organism. 

Speaking generally, and judging from the remains, it may 


26 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


be said that the use of burned brick began to spread rapidly 
toward the close of the Republic. At that time, and gener- 
ally throughout the period of the first emperors, brickwork was 
characterized by regularity and great care in execution; the 
mortar joints were very thin, so thin that, especially on the 
face of the wall, they did not exceed two or three millimeters 
in thickness [1/12 or 1/9 in.]; the bricks were of excellent clay 
and manufacture, well burned, and very hard. 

In the m and 11 centuries, there began at first to appear 
various defects in the brickwork which later became gradually 
more marked. The mortar joints increased in thickness so 
as to exceed more than three or four centimeters [1.2 or 1.6 
in.]; the courses were less regular and in the end came to be 
laid with bricks of all dimensions. Not infrequently, there 
were used, during the last years of the Empire, bricks taken 
from ruins, and construction in general betrayed a very care- 
less execution. The bricks to begin with were of a lower grade 
and coarser texture, made of poorly pugged clay, and the work- 
manship in laying showed signs of deterioration. 

Decoration followed the general course of Roman art. Sober, 
elegant, and of the purest lines in the last days of the Republic 
and the first years of the Empire, it became richer and richer 
and invaded every exposed surface on the wall up to the point 
of becoming exuberant, though it preserved great correctness 
of form. Later, with the decline of art, we find it becoming 
commonplace, poor, misshapen, and showing clearly in what 
a short period of time that art declined which has left to the 
world so many wonderful monuments. 


LEADING EXAMPLES 


Far indeed from pretending to give a description of all 
Roman constructions in brick, for which a much more extensive 
treatment than the present would be necessary, we shall limit 
ourselves to mentioning a few of those best preserved or pos- 
sessing special characteristics, and to giving as far as possible 
an idea of brick construction in which, as in all other fields, 
the spirit of Rome reveals its greatness. 

One of the first and most distinguished monuments in brick 
we have to note is the Porta Palatina (Plate 22) at Turin 


PLATE 22. 


ANCIENT TIMES 


Porta Palatina, Turin, 





Restored. 


28 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


which perhaps may be ascribed to the age of Augustus. It is 
flanked by two sixteen-sided towers of five stories each, be- 
tween which on the ground level are four arches of sober 
and severe aspect, two major and two minor. Two orders 
of arcades, as in the Porta Nigra of Treves and the Porta del 
Paradiso at Susa, surmount the basement zone and give 
lightness and elegance to the whole structure. These arcades 
are framed by two architectural orders of the purest line and 
executed, like the entire edifice, with great care. They were 
not intended merely as decoration but were indeed necessary 
for the defense of the gate and could be reached safely from 
within the city wall. ° 

Another notable example of face brick construction is found 
in the before mentioned Castro Pretorio at Rome, constructed 
by Sejanus, the terrible favorite of Tiberius (Plate 23). Al- 
though not possessing any special decorative interest, perhaps on 
account of their particular purpose, we must, however, note in 
these constructions of the Pretorian Guard, not only the beauti- 
ful reddish brown color of the carefully smoothed bricks, but 
also the gates flanked by battlemented towers and adorned 
with loopholes and cornices (Fig. 8). 

Of this first period, we again recall the Anfiteatro Castrense 
(Plate 25), which is more interesting than the Castro from 
the standpoint of decoration, consisting as it does of an inferior 
order of arcades resting upon piers and framed by a Corinthian 
order of engaged columns and a superior arcuation, glimpsed 
at the left, in which pilasters are substituted for the columns. In 
this monument there are two things of especial interest: the’ 
substitution of square blocks of travertine for the usual bases of 
the columns, and the exquisite workmanship of the Corinthian 
capitals, executed wholly in brick, constituting one of the first 
examples of this sort. 

Worthy of mention are the varied combinations which 
brick construction assumed in the opus reliculatum in the first 
century. Anexample of this is the tomb at Ostia (Plate 24), be- 
fore alluded to, of the time of Claudius.? It is most carefully 
executed and very beautiful because of the geometric decora- 


1. Rivorra: op. cit. pp. 62-75. 2. PascHETTO: Ostia, Colonia Romana, storia e 
monumenti, pp. 441 ff. Vaciiert: Notizie degli scavi di antichila, ecc. 1912, p. 23. 


29 


ANCIENT TIMES 


“BI}SQ ‘shipneyy Jo sully, ‘quioy, jo [lejoq “py ALVIg ‘oumloy ‘dure uell0je1g JO [[B&AA JO [leloq “¢7 ALVIg 










BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





Plate 25. Castrensian Amphitheatre, Rome 


ANCIENT TIMES 31 


tions, secured by a well chosen combination of tufo and brick. 
Well worthy of remark also are the bases of the pilasters, obtained 
by combining moulded bricks of which we shall see other varied 
applications later. 

We may note incidentally a motive, both constructive and 
decorative, which appeared very early and became quite com- 
mon in Roman architecture. It consisted of little arcades of 
brick supported by brackets of stone, or of brick vaults pro- 
jecting from the external walls of buildings and serving to 
support the balconies. These balconies are found not only in 
the drawings of ancient monuments left by artists of the Renais- 
sance (as the Nymphaeum in the Gardens of Sallust at Rome,! 
and the Temple of Portunno at Porto’) but also in the Domus 
Gaiana on the Palatine. These characteristics are also seen in 
a few houses at Ostia (Plates 26, 27) in the Via Della Fortuna,’ 
and in the vicinity of the Temple of Vulcan‘, where perhaps 
they were embellished by terra cotta and vari-colored stucco. 
We present an interesting reconstruction of such houses’ 
made by the distinguished architect Gismondi (Plate 28). 

Continuing our examination, we find that brick was exten- 
sively used for decorative purposes in the group of edifices 
constituting the Forum of Trajan at Rome, especially in the 
so-called Baths of Paolo Emilio (Frontispiece). Here it was 
that the celebrated Apollodorus, Hadrian’s Graeco-Syrian archi- 
tect, displayed his eminently artistic qualities and exquisite 
sense of architectural refinement. These decorations followed 
motives similar to those which are found also in the entrance 
to the Baths at Ostia, in the office of the Grain Market® 
and in the Horrea E’pagathiana, also at Ostia (Plate 29). These 
decorations, consisting of tympanum, cornice, pillars or half col- 
umns, capitals and bases, all executed wholly in brick, became 
_very frequent in Roman architecture. Other important buildings 
of the kind might also be mentioned, such as the structure sur- 
mounting the Praetorium of Hadrian’s Villa near Tivoli, which is 
decorated with elegant pilasters; the external portico of the 


1. Biblioteca Vaticana, Codice Vat. Lat., No. 3439, folio 30. 2. Il libro di Guiliano 
da Sangallo, Codice Barberiniano, Vat. Lat. No. 4424. 3. PAascHETTo: op. cit. 
p. 316. Carcoptno: Melange d’archeologie XXX, p. 417. 4. Notizie degli scavi, 
ecc. Series V., Vol. 12, p. 324 ff. 5. Rwista di Architettura e d’arti decorative, 
Rome, 1923. 6. PASCHETTO: op. cit. p. 314. CARcOPINO: op. cit. p. 424. 


32 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


theatre at Ostia, of which there are the very beautiful remains 
of an elaborate entablature in brick; and the like. 

But we ought rather to turn our attention to certain edi- 
fices of a more modest architectural type which have come 
down to us less damaged than those thus far considered, inas-- 
much as few things can give us so lofty a conception of ancient 
art as these buildings. We should think of them not as the 
work of great artists, but rather of modest, though very skill- 
ful artisans and that the material employed did not lend itself 
to decorative refinement. However, the grace and at times 
the reserve in composition and form, effects here obtained by 
the use of very simple means, ought to fill us with admiration, 
and readily afford an idea of what the architecture of our 
ancestors was like. These buildings, for the most part sepul- 
chral, either because of their number, traditional regularity in 
form, construction, detail, and prevalence through several 
centuries, or because of the different localities in which they are 
found, lead us to consider how 
widely diffused and applied 
brick: architecture must have 


ial ee wees PANS 
== O24 => 
kK ' 


ee ae 
2-== | beeninsuch well-defined types 
| | of buildings. 

He ee One of the first in chreno- 


logical order is the so-called 
Sepulchre of the poet Persius 
(Plates 1 and 30, Fig. 24), re- 
cently restored,’ situated on 
the ancient Appian Way, a 
few kilometers from Rome. 
This monument is attributed 
perhaps with more reason to 
Quintius Verannius, frequent- 
ly mentioned by Tacitus, who 
died in Britain in 62 A. D. where Nero had sent him as 
imperial legate;? or perhaps, as claimed by Canina,’ to 
another person of the same name but of later date. This 
sepulchre presents a beautiful fagade decorated above and 


1. Relaztone dei lavori eseg. dall’ Uff. Reg. dei, Monumenti, 1899 and 1902. Asusy: 
op. cit. 2. NrBBy: op. cit. Vol. 3. pp. 553-4. 3. Canina: Architettura Romana p. 182. 























2+ 665 = sees uae pre meriy: 


F 1G. 24. Plan and Detail, Tomb of Persius. 


ANCIENT TIMES 33 





PLATE 27. Houses with Projecting Arched Cornices, Ostia. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


34 


"elsQ ‘Yolig Ul [e1JOg poyYeIODA(] “67 ALWIg 


pointe EOE 
pss 2 age <i OP 
ne + 


‘Ipuouisr1y <q ets() 78 SBSNOPF] JO UOTONISUODaY “9Z 





ANCIENT TIMES 30 


in the center by a large niche in which there certainly stood a 
statue. Flanking the niche are two brick columns set into the 
wall which give to the facade a pleasing sense of rhythm and a de- 
cided effect of light and shade. At the back, through a door 
with stone jambs, one has access to the sepulchral chamber which 
is as high as the whole : 
edifice and decorated 
with niches. 

Another edifice of 
the kindistheso-called 
Torraccio della Cecch- 
ina (Fig. 25) on theVia 
Nomentana, belong- 
ing to the second half 
of the 1 century. Of 
very noble aspect, it 
still preserves the 
traces of an entabla- 
ture, an elaborate fes- 
toon, two small taber- 
nacles above, anda 
space intended for the 
title of the departed.! 
This is one of the most 
beautiful ruins of the 
Roman Campagna. 

On the Via Latina, 
not far from Rome, 
we also find three interesting edifices entirely of burned brick 
belonging to ther and 11 centuries. Two of these are doubtless col- 
umbaria, rather than individual tombs, and are built in the form of 
small temples. The first (Plate 31, Figs. 26-28) shows two superim- 
posed orders, Corinthian and Composite, with an elaborate entabla- 
ture in the lower story. The facing is of a beautiful reddish brown 
brick, the pilasters and cornices of yellow brick.* The bricks 











Fiev2s: Perriceio della Cecchina, near Rome. 


*These brick are very perfectly made, with clean straight arrises, and laid in an ex- 
ceedingly thin joint. On the face they measure 2.5 x 26.5 cm. (.98 x 10.43 in.) [Ed.] 


1. Tomassett1: La Campagna Romana. Archivio ‘dell Societa Romana di Storia 
Patria, Vol. 12, p. 51. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


36 





‘amoy ‘AAA UST oy} UO UINIZequINjO’) VY “[¢ ALVIg 








‘amoy ‘Ae ueiddy ‘snislog 100g 











Pea By 7 
aa 


he 
: a 





ANCIENT TIMES 37 











Vlfllulsa: ee 
Wi VYyjge Z PRR EAS PANIIT SER 





“dG. oe wy, Pr A SVE yey yu town mano ot 
y ity) As ECV UGE ev ESE oT $a 





AGG oa Sm EA 
Uj DIDI IED DIDE ID 
Gf uae aratmriintawrartss EAP okey 
a ee ee 
Yin ui ee seaes r rh eases a 
































CC —————— ee 
yt 
“i sy Le eae 1 P T 

“th a ‘ . = — 5 2G 7 - at Z 
Yana’ SRW IETS RIBS, 1M 
Z Ky Se a —-- _— = a Ean ee 





i - 
/ Gs PEEVE) ENE BV VIO 
y 























































































































JL: i i T - 
Gee PSE re oe 
te 1 : (* 

Yi rast se ac fi \OONOLOD) 
Ye sz: Sei RIYA OD 
tera NS EO OS y 
ee ee AO 
YR? r= 5 rest mmm Ag ae S18 
Mes om, mi 1 aon 
ae ee 
27 3 gag nee j =I ea 
Oe ee PS x 
GA are ! — san See —-4 
i = ——— Te Seg oe arena eran ee 
TATA eh Se ae pias eee ge ean tet 

I E' NS go : eS 
“ig — ee ae 

ue a: Frees eee ey 

4 C aioe 

“YU tlie = aeons 

47% pee he a ee ee Seep 
WGA 8a SS 
Ys, 1 i 1 

Luby MIA Se cctoe be caine Late 
5 ve ee MY hE —— = 
Ethos ay, 

4 


NvAw 


“Le PEE 
VS G1 LETZTE Ly, TAG EJS UG Ley) AWAD ING 


us ‘ 
ey, BS PALMA SAT INGEST GT ON A VARY AV On he dh ALT ATT 

Ahi ieee eae 
GOI 

LMEMAD J A KF Bs Ni o A Ria pA 4 



















































































SRN 
A A RI eae Ae 
“ly YY DPS ASLSASAGIN NI SIE IES AAS SS FI AA ar a 
Ufone ee 
UL -—— — —' — — hr - a 
Cae ang : esas he ee 
bE ee ers ee ee ee 
Wj ZS anne 1 1 ] ig [= 
iy Tce i. acer T - i = : T —— 
“Ut 7, CE Ae z T 
: Gy Si API IUA CIRIRIRS SB SICI NSS SIN ND SINDRISY, 
Bi he ee em Syste Tes Be eeracrsl aotearoa 
“Ugly d = iy bites eo atl = a 
en Yo: Gy SS On ee A WK, A MU EOD 
“Gs, eee BesS eel ese eanpe saris z 
Ty = — : ; : 
YS Teast al ae see Rein. fe 5 
A ss aes EERE he CIEE ED 
Coe aT ——— L ca ! ais = a = nti 
Cit. —— Sa mg eae 
ULGS a EY Ab 
YOU, x= 1 é I I APN I Liv 
CG py ete Ya rt Th ASW/AIs PON) 
Ue —— Re. 
EGE a Siveoreng asi os plememname T_T Sas 
ee Ya NN 
NIL men pee ema : — 
L8 ota nea Rte acco 
ie eee are 
ee it —— = 






































MARIA BAROSSO 


Fic. 26. Detail of Tomb in Plates 31, 32. 


38 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


DLE IEE BIRO EI 


uaalgaalain 


i 





PLATE 34. Tomb of the Valerii on the Latin Way, near Rome. 





ANCIENT TIMES 


39 


of the cornices are elaborately carved in the form of dentils, ovoli, 
beaded mouldings, scales, etc. (Plate 32, Fig. 26). The acanthus 
leaves of the capitals are of exquisite workmanship, and on the 


facade there remain 
unquestionable 
fragments of the 
ornamental terra 
cotta with which it 
was adorned. The 
second, of which we 
present simply a de- 
tail (Plate 33) is of 
one story only. Like 
the first, the wall is 
of a beautiful red- 
ish brown brick very 
carefully laid, while 
the Corinthian 
order is of yellow 
brick. The dentils, 
the brackets, form- 
ed by three bricks 






























































x 
3% 
‘ ral 


\ 
7 


7 
S| 
"4 

, 











| ey 











\ Pais au 
Pee es 
oo ante pn a 













































































Fic. 27. Elevation and Section, Tomb on Latin Way. 


set on edge, and the other mouldings, cut perhaps before the 


bricks were burned, are of interest. 

















——— 








3 4 








Mm 5 














MBaRoSS? 


Fig. 28. Plan, Tomb on Latin Way. 


(See Figs. 25-27). 

The sepulchre' attributed to the 
Valerii (Plate 34) situated near by is 
much more imposing and beautiful, 
though more sober in its decoration. 
From the atrium of which there re- 
mains only a short stretch of wall 
decorated with engaged Corinthian 
columns, fully restored, one descends 
to the subterranean chamber by 
means of two lateral stairways, while 
the platform between leads to the 
main chamber on the ground level 
(Fig. 29). This tomb, which remains 


1. Fortunati: Relazione degli scavi eseg. nella Via Latina, 1859. 
Bollettino di correspondenza archeologica, 1857. p. 177. 1858 pp. 18 & 81. 


40 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


today almost intact, although with some restorations, is very 
beautiful in its simplicity. Unlike the other examples which we 
have examined, some of its cornices are not 
made of the usual moulded bricks but of small 
blocks of terra cotta. Although these tombs 
show the marks of age and the trying vicissi- 
tudes of time, their actual state of preservation, 
in spite of the devastations of storm and earth- 
quake and war during eighteen centuries, speak 
well for the enduring character of the material 
employed and the thoroughly competent work- 
manship with which they were erected. 

In other parts of Italy and belonging to this 
same period may be mentioned two examples: 
the so-called sepulchre of the Conocchia near 
Capua (Plate 35), remarkable for its fantastic 





Fia. 29. Valerii Tomb. 














architectural composition, 
Va analogous to a thoroughly 
yf, baroque conception of later 
Yi times; and the ill-preserved 


Leese, SON Ya remains of an arch and a 

ef pee RRA | pee 7 

~-££¢ 2 SAEEN ESS hs i // 
YY, 























Gime Bera Seth PER oF Ee 
—_ 4 row as? =F 


8 


| 











s 


yj 
WSS TORRIA BH IP (ONTS PIAH' a 


Tad ML 


DOS Mi De PW" 





I ht 
SSSA SENSIS 
ve 
Re 
ve 





7) 


SSS UT S 


U7 tw jeutie y 


me 
al 


nee 





iit) 








TS ee eS ZS 


AON SO SS SA 











































































Age 
: i 
EIR fe = 
i Se = 
Laan We Ss SaaS 
MARIA BAROS5O G MOY, 
Fic. 30. Detail, Tomb of Annia Regilla. Fic. 31. Detail, Tomb of Annia Regilla 


tomb near Canosa in Apulia,which in workmanship is very similar 
to the preceding (Plate 36). Proceeding in almost chronological 
order, we find other important sepulchral edifices in brick quite 
well preserved. One, the so-called Triopio of Herodes Atti- 


=_ 


ae a oi: ; Ay . 4 
fy Be : : 
7" << , 
< Aas tea oe a 
F a te 
Ae + 
Pa 
Pa 
ak at 
r + ra 








SS ey 


See ee 


{ G Aone 


ee ee 





ANCIENT TIMES 41 





PLATE 35. Tomb of the Conocchia, PLATE 36. Remains of Tomb 
near Capua, after Peranesi. near Canosa, Apulia. 





PLatE 37. Tomb of Annia Regilla, near Rome. 


42 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 











58 


PuateE 39. The Temple of Health, Puate 40. Church of Sant’ Urbano, once a 
Appian Way, near Rome, after Peranesi. Temple of Bacchus, near Rome. 


cus,* which perhaps contained the body of Annia Regilla,this wife, 
was built during the latter half of the 1 century in the usual 
form of a chapel (Plate 37). In addition to the excellent brick- 
work, it combines with a refinement of composition an elaborate 
decoration in brick where the color scheme, intelligently applied, 
was not neglected. It is composed of a basement zone and an 
upper Corinthian order. The motive of octagonal columns set 
into the thickness of the wall is a very attractive feature (Plate 
38) and reminds us of the tomb of Quintius Verannius already 
examined (See Figs. 30-32). 

We give two further examples of a similar type, namely, 
the so-called Tempio della Salute (Plate 39), shown by the en- 
graving of Piranesi in a better state of preservation than it is 
today, and the Church of Sant’ Urbano, believed formerly to 
have been a Temple of Bacchus (Plate 40). In both these 
structures, the formal decorations in gables and cornices are 
carried to the point of exuberance. 


*The word “‘triopio”’ is perhaps derived trom the triangular form ot the land on which 
the tomb was erected. [Ed.] 


1. Cartani : Il Triopio e la Villa di Erode Attico, Nuova Antologia, 1896. 
TOMASSETTI: op. cit. Vol. 2. 


43 


ANCIENT TIMES 


AN \\\ 


LX 


SQM QQ 


oo \ \ 

















ee 
Al 


LM 


Mp 








ZZ. 


Y 
Liv 
) 


Al 





i Hilt 7) 


— 


Jag. 


Hig 












Uy 


v ily 





XA\ 


Rais Se 








sty 


Til 





Sj — 





3 Tout 
7 eo a 


| =I WA 
RAY Y CBC 
ASA IS GREESRS 
Na 
Se - 


IS 
Sea Loo 

=> va a 

XN St3 


Y 


Vill 
2 


eee N\A 


LTE, 





pay 
We 





yfyf 
fe 


Ay Zz 
ltt 
4 


My, 
3 


N 








oh 
~ 





EAS 








WN 
SS 
BR 











Bee 





M.BARO 550 





SS 





wX aN WN OOH YARRA SY 
eee BAAR Aw 
WW “VACA Qy 


Yj 
Uy 
ty 
fi 





\ \ 
QQ GGGGG|Qq QQ NV 
SNA WX BDCO{™’ QQ YS‘; 
ET SN WV Se SLETLEUITATTN EFTTA ATFTULUUVITTULLTTA NNN SN Nes 
ace RAS 
£0.23 UM HO, 2B — 2 oon ABZ Q3E9 
m. 5.03 ee ooh ee aeanaae 
m. 8.50 ae Le eey «| 





Fic. 32. Profile, Section, and Plan, Tomb of Annia Regilla. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


44 


‘auoYy ‘a7}e+) 


ueloUulg oq, 


‘Cp ALVId 


‘OWIOY ‘|[EAA UeloOINY Ul JOMOT, ‘Lp ALVIG 





45 


MIDDLE AGES 


‘ODIOY ‘TTA UBIPoINY oY} Ul BLIBUISY &V10g otf, ° 


Ep ALVIg 





46 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Because of the nature and brevity of the present treatise 
we do not deem it fitting to cite here other edifices of brick con- 
struction, since, especially in the tr and tv centuries, they pre- 
sent no particular merit. Art, and consequently brick architec- 
ture, followed the rapid decline of the Roman Empire. The 
Station House of the VII Cohort of the Watch, in the Trastevere 
indicates to what point has fallen the art of brickwork which 
once had attained in Rome so distinguished a height. We 
mention only as a last and imposing construction with brick 
facing the Aurelian Walls of Rome,* noted for their towers 
and galleries for the patrol (Plates 41-43). 


Pror. Inc. GARLO ROCCATELLI 


* *These walls are built of the usual caementum core faced with brick. Although bat- 
tered down and rebuilt in various sections during the centuries, so that they represent 
all dates from the time of Aurelian (270-275) on, they are, as we see them today, substan- 
tially the walls as built by that Emperor in the III century. Originally, they were twelve 
miles long, but only eight miles, or the portion on the left bank of the Tiber, remain. Very 
little of this mighty work is to be seen on the Vatican side. As the wall is about 12 feet 
thick, its parapetted top, 60 feet above the outside ground level, afforded a broad walk 
for the garrison, and allowed for an interior passage, 10 feet above the inside ground 
level, for the guard. This passage opened out toward the city in frequent high arched 
openings. There were some 300 great square towers projecting from the wall, and 
spaced every forty-five or fifty feet. While these towers are assigned to the days of Hon- 
orius (395-423) the imposing round towers of the Porta Asinaria, near St. John’s Lateran, 
are said to belong to Aurelian’s time. In building the wall, Aurelian took advantage of exist- 
ing structures in the line of circumvalation, such as great villas, aqueduct arches, the 
Pretorian Camp, the Castrensian Amphitheatre, the Pyramid of Cestius, and the like by 
making them integral parts of the fortifications.—|Ed.| 


1. G. B. DE Rosst: Annali dell’ Istit. di corrispond. archeolog., 1858, pp. 278 ff. 


BRICK IN THE MIDDLE AGES 
MANUFACTURE OF BRICK 


The entire Medieval period affords no bibliographical sources 
from which to draw definite information on the manufacture of 
brick, but we may assume that the methods were doubtless 
much the same as in the preceding period and would differ little 
from that employed today for hand made brick. In dimensions, 
there was seldom found standardized brick in which length and 
breadth were approximately multiples of thickness. On the con- 
trary, there was much variation due both to tradition and to 
the localization in manufacturing and building practice to which 
Professor Giovannoni in his Preface has alluded.* Thus at 
Ravenna, some of the old brick found in San Giovanni Evangelista 
and in the Tomb of Galla Placidia are 8.5, 9, and even 10 cm. 
in thickness [3.4, 3.5, 3.9 in.] while in San Vitale they do not run 
over 4.5 cm. [1.8 in.]. Later in the period, the usual thickness of 
the Roman brick, 3-4 cm. [1.2-1.6 in.], is found; at Bologna, 
in the xvi and xvi centuries, the brick are from 5 to 7 cm. 
thick [1.9-2.8 in.]. 

We no longer find the wedge-shaped brick which had already 
disappeared in the last period of Roman civilization and which 
was so prized in the construction of arches. We do find, however, 
bricks with one face in the form of an arc for use in columns, as 
seen very frequently at Bologna. There were also bricks curved 
flatwise to serve on the extrados of arches. These were employed 
a little everywhere after the x century. 

Roofing tiles, both curved and flat, were also manufactured 
as in the Roman period, but of much smaller dimensions, ap- 


*In length and breadth the dimensions ran all the way from 27-51 x 12-34, cm. the 
breadth not always being one half the length, as the making of regular bond patterns by 
the use of headers and stretchers, as known to us, was not generally practiced. In the 
main the prevailing dimensions were 3.5-4.5 x 30-32 x 15-16 cm. (1.4-1.8 x 11.8-12.6 x 5.9- 
6.3 in.); although, as Professor Porter points out, much larger brick are frequently found, 
as at Vigolo Marchese, Stradella, Milan, and Montechiarugolo, in the first half of the x1 
century and occasionally in the x1 century. Brick now being used in restorations at 
Chiaravalle, Milanese, measure 9 x 55 x 27 cm. (3.5 x 21.7 x 10.6 in). Toaccount for the 
great variety of sizes and shapes used during this period, Porter regards it to have been a 
common practice throughout the Romanesque times to cut and not mould the green clay 
into the desired forms before drying and burning. He also calls attention to a practice 
originating in the x1 century of cross hatching the brick, to aid bonding, either when green 
or after being burned and laid in the wall, a practice which continued to the close of the 
x11 century and then disappeared (Lombard Architecture, Vol. I, pp. 36, 38). Where later 
restorations have removed the gesso covering, the scoring on these brick presents a not 
unpleasing texture effect. [Ed.] 


A? 


48 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


proaching an average of 30x45 cm. [11.8x17.7 in.] and often 
even smaller. At a later period the flat tile disappeared almost 
entirely, as may be seen in the roofs of nearly all the construc- 
tions from the x1 century on. 


BrICcK IN CONSTRUCTION 


The use of brick extended to religious and municipal build- 
ings, and to monumental work of various kinds. ‘There were no 
longer great numbers of laborers for concrete work, or great 
financial resources to lavish on the splendors of stone. We have, 
instead, above all in the first period of the Middle Ages, works 
constructed almost entirely of brick: brick walls, brick pave- 
ments, and brick vaults. Economy was necessary; imposing 
thermal edifices and huge basilicas were out of the question after 
the fall of the Empire. There was no longer a powerful state 
. which could exploit the labor of slaves, skillful both in construc- 
tion and decoration. Hence, economy was sought both in the use 
of the raw material and in the employment of labor. The mason, 
however, will become more skillful, while the architect will have 
at his disposal very modest means for the work to be accom- 
plished, and will attain a lightness of construction hitherto 
unknown, as we shall see in the examples to be examined which 
have remained intact in spite of the succession of various states 
of culture in the same regions. 

We shall find vaults covering limited spaces with clever solu- 
tions hitherto unknown, because not required of the Roman 
architect. We shall see cornices, at first and for a long time after- 
ward, as artificial arrangements of brick; then to evolve slowly 
into a very pure feeling which will become the constant charac- 
teristic of brick construction. 


THE RAVENNA PERIOD 


Both in the v century when Honorius, the first Emperor 
of the West after the final division of the Empire, removed his 
' residence from Rome to Ravenna (403), and in the follow- 
ing century when Justinian, Emperor of the East, having re- 
covered Sicily and Italy, also chose that city as the seat of his 
Exarch (539), it was natural that the little city should rise 
to great importance and that, in the consequent building 


MIDDLE AGES 49 


activities, the Byzantine influence should be marked. It was 
during this disturbed epoch that there arose a new form of art 
which developed no longer at Rome as its center, but at Ravenna. 
Here we find famous architectural monuments which, by reason 
of certain elements, are connected with forms peculiar to the 
last Roman period, but with an altogether new feeling. 

In construction, the simple brickwork of the exterior walls, 
with varying mortar joints, was no longer so carefully done, as 
if the artisans had hastened in order to devote themselves with 
the utmost zeal to interior decoration. 

As a decorative motive in cornices, there prevailed a prac- 
tice of setting the bricks corner to corner in saw-tooth fashion, 
often between regular courses. Wall surfaces were frequently 
embellished with blind arches and pilasters resting upon a base 
which ran around the entire edifice, but which today is for the 
most part sunk in the earth, chiefly because of the settlement 
to which the structures have been subjected. We mention a few 
of the more characteristic monuments in chronological order. 


ee O_O 


: S aus S es enews Vinx YM wae <All Wie 











a ZS =2= 


ity 
thy 
ke 

































oes Dae = << : a -—— 
re) =: 5 5 a —=y 
=< oS NT pS 

ay ou a Ze SS Wii Za 












sag 
i] 













| 
H 
| 


mm 
i 
4 
it 
| 





Fia. 33. Blind ee ties in Nave Wall of San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna. 


San Giovanni Evangelista, founded about the year 425 by 
Galla Placidia,* but entirely rebuilt later, has, in the external 
wall of the central nave, an order of small blind arcades sup- 
ported by slender pilasters resting upon a light, continuous base. 
Above, a certain decorative effect was sought in a row of small 


*Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius and daughter of the great Theodosius, an accom- 
plished and beautiful princess, after a rather dramatic career with two royal husbands, 
became in 526 regent for her six-year-old son Valentinian III and virtually ruled the Western 
Empire for the next twenty-five years. [Kd.| 


50 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


pendent arches (Fig. 33). We shall find these motives character- 
istic of brick architecture during this period, and later shall find 
them developed into 
various forms of expres- 
sion throughout the Mid- 
dle Ages. 

The Mausoleum of 
Galla Placidia, founded 
by that princess and 
originally known asSantt 
Nazario e Celso (Plate 
44), dating from 440, is 
built of brick greatly 
differing in dimensions, 
among which those run- 
ning 8x30x15 cm. [3.2- 
X11.9x5.91in.] and others, 
not standardized,* mea- 
suring 10x43x25 cm. 
[3.9x16.9x9.8 in.] pre- 





os RE 
pe SS ea 


Fic. 34. Dome of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. 








dominate. For the arches, thinner bricks 
were used. 

The dome (volta a vela)t} over the central 
compartment is constructed of bricks set 
normal to the direction of the vertical curve, 
a process of construction which we see 
here applied for the first time in the history 
of building (Fig. 34). The reinforcing of the 
dome as well as of the barrel vaults, in the 
four arms of the cross, consists of amphorae 

















: : : : Fie. 35. Amphorae in Dome 
or terra cotta wine jars of various sizes, of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. 


*Standardized in the sense of having a width one half the length and a thickness one 
half the width. [Ed.] 

tA vault bellied like a sail. It is to be observed that, unlike the subsequent dome of 
S. Sophia at Constantinople, the pendentives of the Mausoleum are a part of the hemisphere 
whose base is circumscribed about the square supporting it; the pendentives of S. Sophia are 
below the hemisphere whose base is inscribed within the square that supports it. [#d.] 


MIDDLE AGES ol 


Which followed the slope of the roof so that, with a little mortar 
between, the roofing tiles could be laid upon them (Iig.35). The 
stamps upon these tiles were 
clearly visible in the recent 
restorations of this famous 
monument. 

Of special interest is the 
exterior decoration of the 
Chapel of San Pier Crisologo 
(433-449) showing small pen- 
dent arches, each of which is 
supported by a bracket of cut 
brick. Worthy of notice are 
the wall divisions, adorned 
with these small arches which 
are separated into twos and 
fours by pilasters supported 
cece es suoUs base (Hig. : 6). Fria. 36. Wall and Cornice, Chapel of San Pier 
The cornice is characteristic of Crisologo, Ravenna. 
this period. 

The Baptistery of Neone, known also as the Battistero Ortodosso 
or San Giovanni in Fonte (449-458), reveals sober and dignified 
lines (Plate 46). The simple motives of the arched windows and 
blind arcades are very effective. The cornice, obscured in the 
illustration by the shadow, consists of the usual row of brick in 
saw-tooth fashion, between two even courses. We have here the 
first example of a dome, concealed on the- exterior as in Galla 
Placidia, composed of superimposed rows of small terra cotta pipes 
inserted one into the other (Fig. 37). Of the same period is the 
interesting Baptistery of the Arians, afterwards the Oratory 
Santa Maria in Cosmedin (Plate 47). 
It is said to have been originally the 
el = hi’ octagonal half of a Roman bath. 
ea AGA Cnr My In San Apollinare Nuovo, founded 
by the Emperor Theodoric as an Arian 
























































































































































Fic. 37. Clay Pipes in Dome of : 
Orthodox Baptistery, Ravenna. Church about 520 and known as Sanctus 


Martinus tn Coelo Aureo until the vii 
century, there is a certain attempt at decorative effects in the 
small projecting arches under the eaves of the nave wall. This is 


a2 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 45. Palace of Theodoric, Reggia ad Calchis, Ravenna. 


ise) 
Ww 


MIDDLE AGES 


“BUUDABY ‘UIPAUISO’) UI BLE 
eyueg jo AloJeIQ) MOU 





‘ 


suelly oy} jo Asojsydeg 


‘1p ALVIg 


“BUUDARY 
‘9qUOf Ul TUUBAOTY) UBS JO xOpOy GY oy} Jo Aroysdeg ‘op ALVIg 





4 BRICKWORK_IN ITALY 


a motive which, developed into a notable perspective expression, 
may be found two centuries later in the so-called Royal Palace, 
, ae or Reggia ad Calchis, built on 
y aE ed Bi El EA. ~=s the ruins of the Palace of 
( OLD NARTHEX ) Theodoric (Plate 45). 
we a San Vitale, an octagonal 
i >Sea4Giy domed edifice, built in 526-537 
Bf ene by Julianus Argentarius, was 
“~_ B wa begun under Theodoric and 
i completed under -Justinian 
(Plates 48, 49, and Fig. 38, 39). 
In his ‘‘History of Architecture” 
(p. 235), Fletcher states that 
it was modeled after the so- 
called Minerva Medica of Rome 
(Plate 50), a decagonal Nymph- 
aeum of the Imperial epoch. 
The bricks vary in thickness 
from 3.5 to 4.5 em. | 14s 
in.], with the other dimensions 
conforming to no standard, the size 34x51cm. [13.4x20.1 in.] 
however predominating. Where new brick have been required 
for restorations, they have been brought from 
Imole to meet the requirements of quality. The 
mortar joints vary from 2 to 5 cm. [0.8 to 1.9 
in.], that is, sometimes wider than the thickness of 
the- brick. ‘The crown cornice is com- 
posed of five courses of brick, two of which 
are set saw-tooth fashion in alternation 
with the other courses. The lower cornice, 
which is interrupted by the lunette of the 
xv century portal and marks the division 
the two stories on the interior, consists 
simply of three brick courses the center 
one of which is saw-tooth. 

The buttresses at the angles of the 
main octagon which measure 1.58 m. in 
width by 1.25 m. in projection [5 ft. 2 in. : 

x 4ft. 1 in.], are worthy of note. They eae sae she bee 


ATRIUM 













STAIR TOWER /7 bet i 


AND PRESENT, 5 L/ 
CAMPANILE Pen 


PRESENT | i, 
ENTRANCE Warm: i Lig 


Fic. 38. Plan of San Vitale, Ravenna. 








==) ane 


= 
see Ss 3 
A 
ue A Oe, 
“ ‘ $ \%) 
4 “a a es) 
my ‘) 
¢ . nee Gay, 
ag tide 5, 0%, 
7 ‘ies Ona A 
— NN 3 oe Way 
= = pee ees 5 ees Os te 





[a i LW 
TR Q CC "-F.HC—_ €C.eFEBE. 


1234 5 6 7.8 9. META 
—$—$—$———— rs 








ud 


MIDDLE AGES 


*pelojsoy ‘eUUdARY 


‘OTBIIA UBS “Bp 





56 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PMS SBS ed, 


Puate 50. An Ancient Nymphaeum, the “‘Minerva Medica’’, Rome. 


are joined by means of brick arches, concealed by the roof, to the 
pilasters of the cupola. The intermediate pilasters, having a pro- 
jection of 32 cm. and a width 
of about 94 cm. [12.6x37 in.], 
form other vertical lines which 
rise far enough to intersect the 
crown cornice. Moreover, a ™ 
new motive in the architecture 
of Ravenna may be seen in 
the two corbeled brackets at 
the extremities of the apse 
gable. The cupola is con- 
structed of terra cotta wine 
jars which form a true spiral 
coming to a close at the sum- 
mit. The drum and its struc- 
tural connections with the 
octagonal base are in brick and 


offer AL and vey a teresting Fia. 40. Concave Squinch Arch in San Vitale, 
solutions of architectural Ravenna. 





ss : ase ~ 


MIDDLE AGES 57 





PLATE 51. Facade of Sant’ Appollinare in Classe, near Ravenna, Restored. 


problems, as may be seen in Fig. 40. The passage from the wall 
angle to the curve of the dome is cleverly managed by a squinch 
arch over a recess. 

San Apollinare in Classe (Plates 51, 52)is another very impor- 
tant monument of the vi century, also constructed by Julianus 
Argentarius, and on the basilican plan. The brick of a light red 
tone are 3.5-4x50x34 cm. [1.4-1.8x19.7x13.4 in.] with mortar 
joints running from 2 to 5 cm. [0.8-2 in.] in thickness.* Here also 
the sides are decorated with a blind arcade of small round arches 
corresponding to the interior round-arched arcades, but without 
any indication of capitals, except in the central nave, on the 
exterior walls of which may be seen at the impost three projec- 
tions in as many rows of brick (Plate 53). The apse has the usual 
brick cornice in saw-tooth between regular courses. 

_ The campaniles at Ravenna are later than the 1x century, 
with the exception of the circular towers of Sant’ Apollinare in 
Classe and Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, which belong to that period. 


*The brickwork of this period had fallen far below that of the early Empire, but was 
far better. than that of the following centuries, well up into the x1 century. In the x1 
century, however, bricklaying in Lombardy reached the highest excellence, as at Pavia, 
Modena, Milan, etc. [Ed. 


58 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 53. Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, Aisle and Nave Wall, near Ravenna. 


MIDDLE AGES 


"BUUDARY ‘OJOeg 9 UUBAOLD URS jo olueduIe’) 


"GG ALVIg 


"BUUOARY ‘eyesy jue jo sluedwmey “pS ALVIq 





-guUdARY ‘BISTTesuRAG TUUBAOIY) US Jo gjtuedureyy “9S 





“BUUdABY 


gon,[ 00d UT Be, BUS © 1S ALVId 











MIDDLE AGES 


PN ( 
a] € : 
\ nen! es 
‘ iis \ \ Rss 
v 
\ S a = : a Fa 
\ , \ a Gece Ne eer 
i Sie) eee EET 
\ s eae AN, ee 
) — Ee SOON ica nee 
\ . Sa ms ee ree 
a a J 
\ \ ae L — 
Re ee ee eee 
5 \ me z 


, a, « 
inl a PEL NeTs 
mah 


ye g 
fs 





} 





‘ if \ ini ate i! mre pA q {i AG rita tN rian 
ih ida fl are i wn Hf a i : 


omy ce uae he mn | if 
Nilpalth, 


it ng CTT | 

iN eh i in fii i si can fil 
“tl Hal 

{ i ult i ui | Me a il | 




































































































































































































































































































<= AUIS al 
: es ut i| \ Sf 
Aa (i I me M ie Dar Fj ali if ean ill 1 i | li (| | Al 
oa ie 1 ee liar. RAN 
2 fi an Le ARETE TENNENT Pe ll creer | nina il i 
iia ay ence! fir) MR 
= fi AT OR Me Doda TANTTLATATAAT 
f {pcan anes a ae TE RGN OT 
< f fn " cul a iy 1 |) hy iy iv i | | Hh | r | "a 
en ee Ai ee and A AA BTM hth 
A i ; [ i | aL it | (i alist | 
\ \ el lr Hel wa 
\ { x | i | te ! ly, il : 
“ Bi dhe fe ap i H m 
ae he 
Bae bts [the aah eM 
: \ Gt an il 
} AA id Hi: if ‘ih ‘ | | : 
( t \ aE cite ry ase in, (hiyiti nu will rn 1 
| 






































































































Thi Halli TT. f 

















Za 


CRV RGM OF SAR-FRANCE SCO: 
RAVERMA 


MBAROS $0 





POET AG. 
SEPVLCRVCJe»’. Re 


61 


Fic. 41. Drawing of Facade and Tower, San Francesco, Ravenna. 


62 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


In origin, the campanile of Sant’ Agata (Plate 54), goes back to 
the earlier period, but as seen today represents a reconstruction 
of the xv century. The bell tower 
of Santt Giovanni e Paolo (Plate 55), 
is perhaps the earliest of all, dating as 
far back as the vi or vii century. The 
square campaniles of San Giovanni 
Evangelista (Plate 56) and of San 
Francesco (Plate 58, Fig. 41) belong to 
the x1 century. Somewhat later is the 
campanile of Santa Maria in Porto 
Fuort (Plate 57), which rises from a 
massive base said to have belonged to 
an ancient light-house. 

The tower of Sant’ Apollinare in 
Classe (Plate 52), about 40 meters 
high [131 ft.] with walls 1.5 m. thick [5 
ft.] is built of bricks of very different 
dimensions, some of which probably 
came from demolished buildings. A 
few traces of horizontal cornices are 
preserved and each story has open- 
ings of one-, two- or three-arched 
lights. The campanile of Sant’ Apol- 
linare Nuovo (Plate 59), likethe preceed- 
ing, has 























cornice 
lines at 


Puate 59. Campanile of Sant?’ e ach 
Apollinare Nuovo. 














Eas] 
| a ar 


a Cm 
4 GO 

t O = “ith 4 ix LN oe i, 

[ creeeet! {ff Mh uika ih 

S CN we 


either saw-tooth or simple bands of 
projecting brick. The crown cornice 
is made up of two saw-tooth courses 
which alternate with regular courses. 
Another characteristic decoration, 
which has partly disappeared, is =e= . a 
here composed of bowl-like orna- @=—=-S— c= 
: 0 SSeS Ser SS 

ments of glazed terra cotta, of which wis. 

Fic. 42. Window in Campanile of 
two may be seen over thelast three- Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. 





Mit 


| i 
i 
ht 


WD fel Fe Go TET a te 
{ 


nH 


Lilil 


it 
ie 












MIDDLE AGES 63 





PuaTE 60. Abbey Church of Santa Maria in Pomposa, near Codigaro. 


64 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





eRe 


PLATE 61. Old Parish Church, Bagnacavallo. 


light opening, with reliefs in green, red, and old gold at the 
centers (Fig. 42). The varied treatment of the same motives 
in the campanile of Sant’ Agata is worthy of note (Plate 54). 
__}In other localities contiguous to the Romagna, we find the 
same forms established at this time. At Pomposa, in the province 
of Ferrara, the Church of Santa Maria (Plate 60) was built in a 
manner absolutely similar to the monuments mentioned thus 
far, with the two characteristic bracket-shaped projections at 
the extremes of the gable, as we see in San Vitale and Sant’ A polli- 
nare in Classe. The portico, added in 1026, is also in brick of the 
prevailing type, and bears upon its face detailed symbolical bas- 
reliefs which form a beautiful decoration. Ofspecial interest is the 
campanile 50 meters [164 ft.] in height, built in 1063. It follows 
faithfully the forms of the past with the exception of some details 
of the cornices and the round majolica ornaments which are found 
in great profusion. ; 
The Pieve (Parish Church) of Bagnacavallo, between Faenza 
and Imola, belongs to the v or the vi century at the latest 
(Plate 61). This church was also built in the same manner 
and with the same materials as the churches of Ravenna. It 


MIDDLE AGES 65 


reminds us forcibly of the Basilica of Sant? Apollinare in Classe 
both because of the two projections at the extremities of the 
gable and the elevation of the walls of its facades above the roof, 
meant to give greater elegance 
and slenderness to the edifice. 
The well-preserved sides are 
decorated on the exterior of the 
central nave with the usual 
series of small blind arches, hav- 
ing alternate pendent supports 
while the pilasters rise from a 
band a little above the roof of 
the side aisles. Above the small 
arches is the usual cornice of a 
saw-tooth course between two 
flat courses. The round campa- 
nile of the 1x century was de- 3 
stroyed at an early date. area 7 

San Lorenzo Maggiore’ at 
Milan also goes back to the vi 
century. On the exterior of the 
original wall is a brick facing Fic. 43. Detail of Aisle Wall, Santa Maria 
ornamented at the sides with ea elie aero Ek 
pilasters corresponding to the interior arcades as in San Vitale. 
The edifice as it appears today is due to a reconstruction of the 
xvi century, following the forms of the original, upon the same 
foundations. With an octagonal plan, it is reinforced at the 
corners by sturdy buttresses. 

Many other edifices, originally built of brick, have almost 
totally lost their real physiognomy, as has happened, to cite 
one of the greatest examples, in case of St. Mark’s at Venice. 





a 


i 


Sane aan Waumametaease ee 
: an : ‘ 5 Lo RW 3 “y 
in 5 = UY Sat\. 4 i 4 





LONGOBARD AND PRE-LOMBARD PERIOD? 


Alongside of the Byzantine, and interacting with it, there 
was being developed a type of architecture which naturally came to 





1. De DarTEIN: Etude. sur l’architecture lombarde et sur les origines de l’ architecture 
romano-bizantine. CorpbeErO: Dell’architettura ttaliana durante la dominazione 
longobarda. TROJA: Codioe diplomatico longobardo. Marzario: I maestri comacini. 


66 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


be known generally as the Romanesque, based as it was on the 
early Christian adaptation of the Roman basilican or, as others 
say, house plan, and which especially in Northern Italy fell 
under a powerful Lombard influence. The beginning of the 
period may be assigned to the time of the Longobard king 
Authari (584-591), and, continuing under his successors Theo- 
delinda and Agilulf (592-615) down to the days of the Carlo- 
vingian, Charlemagne (768-814), may be said to have extended 
as a pre-Lombard influence to the beginning of the x1 century.* 

The center of this art was Milan, which had enjoyed an 
artistic preparation from the time when the Roman Emperor, 
Maximianus (286-305), chose it as his residence. Later, with 
similar forms, we see the center of this art shifted to the vicinity 
of Rome, especially showing fine examples around Viterbo. 
During this early Longobardic period of development, brick 
seems to have been little used, and then generally in combination 
with stone. The historical and religious documents of the time’ 
have been searched in vain to find any information on the 
manufacture of brick which, however, could not have been 
entirely abandoned as attested by the material of various monu- 
ments, especially those of the time of Charlemagne, such as the — 
exterior of the small nave of Santa Maria delle Caccie at Pavia 
(Fig. 43), the construction of which preceded by perhaps thirty 
years the conquest of Charlemagne over the Longobards. 

Due to the scarcity of both monumental and literary remains 
on the subject, it is very difficult to form an idea of primitive 
Longobardic brick architecture. The authoritative writings of 


*The invasion of the barbarian Longobards into northern Italy, in the vi century, at 
first had a disastrous effect on all forms of art, already in a sad state of decay. Their con- 
version to Christianity, however, led to a renewed interest in art, especially in ecclesiastical 
building which, during their two centuries of control, showed under such rulers as Theodo- 
linda and Luitprand a commendable advance, based as it was upon forms already 
found in the conquered territory. The able and vigorous administration of Charlemagne 
gave an impetus to further development in building practice, but the decay of his un- 
wieldy empire, under his sons, and the consequent general confusion and strife, together 
perhaps with the growing apprehension of the coming end of the world, reduced archi- 
tecture in the latter half of the rx and the whole of the x centuries to the lowest condition. 
With the x1 century, however, there was an evident awakening to human interests, as 
seen in the rise and growth of the Communes, the expansion and development of the trades, 
the general betterment in social and economic conditions which, together with the tremen- 
dous stirrings of the x11 century Crusades, resulted in a period of decided advance during 
which the Lombard-Romanesque manner attained its majority and not only profoundly 
affected, for two hundred years, the ecclesiastical and civic constructions of Italy and the 
rest of Europe, but made possible the pointed architecture of the x11 century. [Ed.] 


1. ANASTASIO, THE LIBRARIAN: De vitis romanorum pontificum. 


MIDDLE AGES 


PLATE 62. Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. 


67 





68 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Paulus Diaconus' is of little value here as he limits him- 
self rather to, expressions of admiration than to exact infor- 
mation. 

In pre-Lombard times we find at Rome, artistic tendencies 
still bound to past forms, as in the Church of Santa Maria in 
Cosmedin (Plate 62) said to have been originally built by a 
Byzantine colony in 775 upon the ruins of a Temple of Ceres- 
Bacchus and Proserpine. The Church as we see it today has 
undergone various changes and restorations. The campanile goes 
back to the beginning of the x1 century. Much the same may 
be said of the neighboring Church of San Giorgio in Velabro 
(Plate 63), the portico of which, however, probably belongs to 
the xm century. In the campaniles of these two churches we 
have admirable examples of that form of construction in the 
detached bell tower which peculiarly belongs to this period and 
which, as a marked characteristic of the Romanesque, is said 
to have originated as early as the vi century. In these tall, 
graceful campaniles of Rome, illustrated in Plates 64-67, the 
work strikingly simulates the old Roman methods both in 
the brick facings and in the very perfect round arches. 

New forms at Rome are found in the cloisters of Santa 
Francesca Romana, originally Sancta Maria Nova, of the x1 cen- 
tury, some features of which are surely related to motives found 
in the campaniles. The cloisters are especially worthy of study 
as examples of fine brickwork of the period (Plates 68, 69; Figs. 
44-46). 

A curious example of a very prevalent practice of the times 
is found in the House of Niccolo di Crescenzio (Plate 70), of the 
XII century, erroneously known as the House of Rienzi, or 
more plausibly called the House of Pilate, as it was used as one 
of the Stations of the Cross in medieval processional ceremonies. 
It is constructed of odds and ends gathered from the ruins of 
older buildings and shows considerable ingenuity, but the whole 
is bizarre and reveals careless workmanship, as seen in the wide 
joints of crude unseasoned mortar (Plate 71). 

Santa Fosca on the island of Torcello near Venice, consecra- 
ted in the year 1011, shows certain features of the Ravenna 
apses with its graceful arcades (Plate 72). It may well be con- 





1. Paoto Dracono: De gestibus Longobardorum—a writer of the early vir century. 


. 


rotates 2F. 
no a ol , 
@ 


; : ae At 








69 


MIDDLE AGES 


“OULOY 


‘orqosnyy] .yUes Jo 


ojluedurey) “Sg ALVIgG 





‘Q1OIS Se [A 


eel eyueg jo otueduiey) “yg ALVIg 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


70 


-QUIOY ‘OUTUTATESNIIx) ULIIOIT “BIG JO optued ure’) *19 TLV 1d 





-guIOY ‘euRIzuepng *e1g jo oftueduer) 99 ALVIg 





SoReal 


+ ae 
=) ~ 
5 


- wal 
iach 





Berea 


ey 


ge e 
=p STS 


plein 2 


Oieeauies 
ST ane 


cmos 
spacing ene 





MO apo 
rinet 
ade, 


rae : A 


sa Sant ae 





Sah pare As 





CHIOSTRO-DI-S: MARIA -ROVA -AL- FORO-ROMALO- 


hATO-ORIERTALE 


MIDDLE AGES 








MSG WAS 








SS Wwe WOU S CX AN Wy VY WY 


. . i N' 
‘ i : WN i 
\ INS | a ee 25 WY | New | 
WOK \ Wz = a Ra V 
UI! lx — i 7 x 
at Aa "! 











Tg 























































{ah 


i 
le, 


e ae 


ifsin MA AULTAC IOUS ORACRATNT RTBU OORT AeeO EI 


! ‘sia i 
un bom 


aan 


Va ae 
é Ss 





: ie 
o) Gen ; tel x a 
: | p 


ii 





a 








Oo} 
ef F 
al 
i 
a 








an hy il 


























irre ai 





Ss isl i 












NTE TG y 
Lo EL jit SG 
l)axanmmmarenisunaei 









ioe if ie a i yt 
i) ont, He 


ili 





ll 














an ith 


H 

i 

md Hae ttilt, 
J 





See eer 


BAL 


m= 3,BO or 


7 
ee 
a 
Bs 
ra 
ia 
ee 


+++ MMr---- 


' © 
1 we) 
ha 
oan 
+) 
ot 
Oe 
iO 
ace 
es 
ne 
a) 
ii 
1M 


O80%--1.15~-26°-1.30--40---+ 





° 
ww 
“~y 
fe} 
x 
a 
ies 
Sie 





Fic. 44. East Elevation of Cloister of Sancta Maria Nova, Rome. 


qe BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





TaN 


Roma 















if “ 





















Yi 


\\ 





Y 


1 
lh Hye L) LS RK \ 
DERE 


Si : Wily 
Se Ta ET Le 
St BU | Horereeeece ca EHH Ae nN 















% 















MARIA BaRosso 


) 


i 


| 


(l | | Hila TL Paes Te py 
Thal Pama tye rio hes i il 
HEH et ee Ee 
Sor aah | nh fH ht pure 
PN te 24 ©: nl a 
WS alll 





















J) 
Ce 
ale 
Cie 





3M 






















‘| ‘oe Bil: ls ii Mair eal mol | 
he FSi fi Wear MA | 
Se —— ea Se ie 
pil zee “BARS | m4 
Vee Sa Bes Mee e: 
2 eas es a BEND eg RS — 
f al } mG L ie 4 , iH an, Sar gS TT mR il ag : 2 S 
ak ZZ a petiridglilat ee] te 
jtoady : ae } Seo oy DSAY, Go j ij ee ot Ls \ of ages Le } fae ' oa 
myst IW: iz eg 1 { peat nin i} ft WETEE ACoA als 
BAe Ze TCE SUR STD OL GiG i labels belt hy € 
VE UAT EAT Cea 8 


TUMTA TET 









ml re 
AKL : 
mS 


. 





linn 
WM 





=> 


Vili 

































\ 
i 
“4 
nw 
~ 
OE 








(aes | 
if hia, rh Samus ct u 7 7AM 
Seo 
I eee | 7/777 
7 eae we Ye 
=a Ye 


S\N 
3m 


SN 
NS 


nK 
ly 
G 
470 
8 
8 
oe 
' 
’ 
46 
2 


SQ BAEHO 
NGG 


NN 





SANGS 








YG 


Y ae 3 : AZ 
VOLO AEDT. 


b. Original Arcading 


Fig. 45. Details in Cloister of Sancta Maria Nova, Rome. 


a. Detail of North Side 


73 


MIDDLE AGES 


“OUIOY “BAON] BLUR], BJOUBS JO JoISIOTD UI s[lejeq ‘OP ‘DIY 


*ssald 1anoyq °q "suunjo‘) saddy) ‘ssaig: 4amoyT “D 





















































up 
QMMTUTNIT _- : 
je ee S| 
ee} pe es he Se 
ee ee eee 
AdvIAV AOOTL ANNOY JO DINYOD 








pire eee} 























BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


‘QUIOY *OSNOFT OLZUBOSAIT) 9Y} JO [leq “TL ALVId 


“oULOYY 


6é 


‘Izuo 


nm 


2 


IY JO OsnoT],, 10 ‘asnoP] O1ZUBOSAID) OYJ, “OL ALVIg 


teense OXF yrs BE 


seeh eri eg eae IETF 


[MEAL AAA AD ALE 





“BUUDARY ‘e1SIISUBAT LUUBAOLD URg Jo osdy “¢) ALVIg ‘O[[9010,J, ‘BoOsOy eyURS Jo osdy °*Z) ALVIg 


wn 
tr 


MIDDLE AGES 





BRICK WORK IN ITALY 


~] 
SN 





PuatTE 75. Abbey Cloister, Vezzolano. 


7 


MIDDLE AGES 





PLaTE 76. Apse and Campanile of Abbey Church, Vezzolano. 


78 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


TEE TA 3 
yg eit 


me nada 


WER, 





PLATE 77. Rear View of Cathedral, Parma. 


79 


MIDDLE AGES 


‘01Q,P [PID 


UI ONVIg ues 


‘8L ALVIdg 





80 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 79. San Teodoro, Pavia. 


sidered as a development of the apsidal architecture of San 
Giovanni Evangelista (Plate 73). 

Of special note is the Badia (Abbey Church) of Vezzolano 
(Plate 74) in Piedmont which, with its fine red brick vividly con- 
trasting with the surrounding verdure, has been beautifully pre- 
served for nearly a thousand years. Erected at the beginning of 
the x1 century upon the foundations of an old Longobard church,’ 
belonging perhaps to the times of Charlemagne, its brick fac- 
ing in part variegated by sandstone courses and adorned by 
three slender columned galleries, it clearly betrays French in- 
fluence. The facing is very carefully executed and, as will be 
seen, rises above the roof of the nave to the great advantage of 
the architectural ensemble. Worthy of note is the difference in 
the treatment of the cornices on the front and sides. With the 
buttresses and columniation, the facade gable bears a restrained 
cornice made up of saw-tooth and plain brick courses on simple 
brackets, while on the exterior of nave and aisles the cornices 
are elaborated into a graceful line of interlacing pendent arches, 


1. Bosto: Storia dell’ antica Abbazzia di Vezzolano. 2. Rivorra: Le origini dell’ 
architettura lombarda. 


MIDDLE AGES 





81 


PLATE 80. General View of Sant’ Ambrogio, Milan. 


82 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PuaTeE 81. Atrium and Fagade of Sant’ Ambrogio, Milan. 


resting on brick corbels or stone consoles which themselves are 
also joined by little sub-arches. The same treatment is seen in 
part on the apse (Plate 76). Here gable, apse, and tower form 
a picture of exquisite composition. The charming little x1 cen- 
tury cloister reveals a touch of later Gothic influence (Plate 75). 

At Parma, we find in the oldest part of the Cathedral (1058- 
74), the choir and apse, forms remarkably developed in their 
ensemble and still connected in detail with the preceding period. 
Here very carefully wrought out decorations in terra cotta, for 
the most part made in terra cotta moulds, vivify the whole. 
The apse (Plate 77) has a cornice of simple moulding under 
which there is a saw-tooth course of brick between two other 
courses set even; immediately below is a series of arches with 
terra cotta animals and leaves in the background. Then comes 
a light, accessible, arcaded gallery with colonettes resting on a 
slender base, below which there is still another saw-tooth course 
of brick, surmounting a series of gracefully intersecting arches. 
Finally, there is a very tall blind arcade, a detail of its archivolts 
being repeated in other parts of the building. 7 

We come now to Pavia with its sumptuous Basilica of 


MIDDLE AGES 83 


2 





PuaTE 82. Atrium and Canon’s Tower, Sant’ Ambrogio, Milan. 


84 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





poe ‘ ‘ A es 


d Yale University Press. 


Courtesy of oon Porter an 
PLATE 83. East End and Apse of Sant’ Ambrogio. 





MIDDLE AGES 85 





Courtesy of Prof. Porter and Yale University Press. 3 


PLaTE 84. Apse of Sant’ Eustorgio, Milan. 


San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro as reconstructed! in 1132 and restored 
at the end of the last century by Angelo Savoldi (Plate 78). 
The facing, of a beautiful clear red brick, is here worked out 
with a care that would be impossible to find in preceding monu- 
ments. The three great arches, supporting a light projection on 
the lower part of the facade; the decoration under the slope of 
the roof, secured by the stepped arcade with its delicate play 
of interlaced pendent arches and cornice above; and the crowns 
of the unequal buttresses which mark the divisions of nave e and 
aisles, are features that arrest attention. 

The brick are of a beautiful clear red and of smooth surface, 
something not observed hitherto; and the artisan has given 
attention to every detail, carefully setting small round terra 
cotta ornaments in the spandrels of the arches as well as at the 
top of the larger buttress. Everything about this fagade indi- 
cates such progress in the workmanship of brick wall construc- 
tion as to suggest that there were new and specialized guilds of 
master masons and a revival of brick manufacture. In fact, | 


1. According to some historians. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


86 


“enpegd “Byog equRg jo osdy Jo ]lejoq 9°98 ALVIg 





“eT Pelg ‘[erpeyiey jo Asoysydeg “cg aLvig 
“SSald Apssanuy) 92K PuY 4940q s0ssaforg fo Ksainop 





recess 








Nera ecnaee Benen 


87 


MIDDLE AGES 


‘g01U9 A “OUBINI, ‘OJeEUOG, 9 Ble, MURS Jo JOMOT, pue osdy ‘2g ALVIg 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


88 





‘a0tud A ‘OUBIN|, ‘OPBUOG] 2 BIIe]A 


nueg 


‘asdy jo sjrejeq “88 ALVIg 











MIDDLE AGES 89 








Courtesy of ; 


PiaTE 90. Apse of San Pietro Vecchio, Brusasco, Piedmont, Restored. 


it was a time when brick masonry reached its highest develop- 
ment in the Middle Ages. Another Lombard church of the 
same period at Pavia is that of San Teodoro (Plate 79). Of 
very ancient foundation, it represents in its present form, as 
restored by Zuradelli and Moiraghi (1887-1909), a simple and 
restrained original of the early x11 century. Less ornate than 
San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, it reveals an obvious similarity of form. 


THE LOMBARD-ROMANESQUE PERIOD 


In Italy during this period, covering the x1, xu, and in 
part the x1m centuries, not only religious edifices but munici- 
pal buildings or communal palaces assert themselves by reason 
of their distinguished artistic forms. 

A really famous monument of brick construction is the 
Basilica of Sant?Ambrogio at Milan (Plate 80), mother and 
queen of Lombard churches,' perhaps originally founded about 
386 by St. Ambrose himself. It was rebuilt in sections, according 
to Cattaneo, the apses and the side chapels in the 1x century 


1. DE DarTEIN: op. cit. 


90 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





Courtesy of Prof. Porter and Yale Unwwersity Press. 
PLATE 91. Detail of Apse, Santa Maria, Calvenzano. 









ae "4 ee a 


S 


Courtesy of Prof. Porter and Yale Uiniseraity Press. 
PuiaTE 92. Detail of Cornice, San Sepolcro, Milan. 


= “eZUOJ ‘[[PH UMOT, JO ‘OlresUaIY 94} JO [le19q “f6 ALVIg ‘epreyeys jo Aoqqy ‘T[BAA VnoyP Joydeyy jo [leg “6 ALVIg 


MIDDLE AGES 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


92 


“enque] 


‘ozueIO'T UBS jo [19d “96 ALVIgG 








MIDDLE AGES 93 


and the nave, aisles; and narthex in the second half of the x1 
century. The facade, with the characteristic upper gallery 
(Plate 81), is certainly of the x1 century; the atrium is later, 
probably belonging to the beginning of the xm century. The 
left campanile (Plate 82), dei Canonici, was built between 1128 
and 1144, while that on the right, dei Monaci, seen in Plates 
80, 81, belongs to the rx century. 

The facing of the older campanile, so devoid of decoration 
and done with such little care, proves its difference in date from 
the rest of the monument, in which we find new forms, and in 
which the slopes of the roof are defined by a brick cornice. 
This cornice begins with a saw-tooth course and is supported 
by a row of small pendent arches such as we find in the cornice 
of the lower story, and also in the cornices of the various stories 
of the later campanile, on the left. 

The apse is also very interesting (Plate 83). Above, it is 
embellished by an order of deep arched niches, supported every 
third niche by pilasters of 30x10 cm. [11.8x3.9 in.], which de- 
scend to rest on a single base and divide the wall into five sections. 
This is a wholly new method of decoration which appeared later 
in many other brick edifices, such as San Vincenzo in Prato; 
Sant Eustorgio (Plate 84), and San Celso, at Milan; and in the 
Baptistery of the Cathedral of Biella (Plate 85). An advance is 
made in the apse of Santa Sofia (Plate 86), said to be the oldest 
church in Padua, while still later it developed with more elegance 
into a series of accessible galleries, as in the apses of Santi Maria 
e Donato on the island of Murano, Venice (Plates 87, 88); Santt 
Giovanni e Paolo (1099-1118) on Mount Caelius at Rome (Plate 
89); San Pietro Vecchio, Brusasco, Piedmont (Plate 90); in the 
side of the Cathedral of Borgo San Donnino (Plate 114); and in 
many others. 

The bonding of the brick was not utilized generally for 
decorative pattern work, though in the walls of Sant’ Ambrogio 
there appears a crude arrangement of bricks in herringbone 
fashion (opus spicalum) which is rather a whim of the builder 
than a need of construction. Some time later, however, we find 
this arrangement used with a definite decorative aim as in the 
apse of the desecrated priory church of Santa Maria at Calven- 
zano (Plate 91), the side aisle of San Sepolcro, Milan (Plate 92), 


94 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


or in the lunettes of windows at Staffarda and Monza (Plates 
93, 94), and quite frequently at Venice. 

A most interesting example of a small circular church, after 
the manner of the enormous Santo Stefano at Rome, is San 
Lorenzo of Mantua (Plates 95, 96). Tradition of the xvim century 
made it a pagan temple converted to Christian uses by Constan- 
tine. It perhaps goes back to the x1 century and may have been 
rebuilt or restored at the beginning of the x1 by the famous 
Countess Matilda (1040-1115). After the parish was transferred 
to Sant’ Andrea in the xvi century and the church desecrated, 
the cite was gradually built over and the church forgotten for 
centuries, until the Commune of Mantua in 1907, deciding to 
enlarge the piazza, discovered the hidden church and undertook 
its restoration as seen at present. It is a very picturesque re- 
minder of the old days as it nestles beneath the great clock tower 
upon the busy Piazza delle Erbe. 

Among the older churches, we note also the Cathedral of 
Modena, begun in 1099 under the direction of Lanfranco da 
Modena, and solemnly consecrated in 1184. It is covered on 
the exterior with stone and is the work of the Gampionese mas- 





PiaTeE 97. From Right Aisle toward Choir and Crypt of the Cathedral, Modena. 


MIDDLE AGES 95 





PLaTE 98. Detail of Nave and Triforium Arches, Cathedral, Modena. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


96 





Modena. 


ATE 99. Left Aisle of the Cathedral, 


PL 


MIDDLE AGES 97 


ters who from 1200 to 1322 carried on the work from father to 
son.* The interior is wholly of brick, restored in 1897. Its har- 
mony with the exterior architecture is truly beautiful. The 
brickwork of? the walls and columns is treated with a feeling of 
dignity worthy of such a noble interior (Plates 97-100); the arches 
are executed with, ,anew,attention to detail. For example, when 
the bricks are not long,enough for the arch face, they are cleverly 
toothed (Plate 98) and dovetailed in a way that perfectly meets 
both constructive and. decorative requirements. The cross ribs 
of the splendid vaulting. (Plate 100) consist of single courses 
of brick chamfered to avoid an otherwise harsh effect. 

The neighboring Abbey Ghurch of Nonantola, San Silvestro 
(Plate 101), is another distinguished example of this period. Un- 
like Modena, the exterior of San Silvestro is entirely of brick. 
Like all such churches of ancient foundation, it has been rebuilt 
and restored many times; but the striking apse, rebuilt in the 
xv century and restored in recent years, retains its fine Roman- 
esque feeling of the xm century, although the brick or the brick- 


* Lanfranco of Modena is regarded by Porter as ranking “among the foremost archi- 
tects of all times,’’ and to him must be attributed the great importance in the xi century 
of the Modena type of ecclesiastical building. It is to him we owe the peculiarly striking 
canopies or open vestibules before the main portals of Lombard churches, consisting of 
columns resting upon caryatids in the form of couchant lions. The high standing which 
Lanfranco had in his day is clearly indicated by the records. On miniatures found in the 
archives of the Chapter House he is depicted in the robes of his profession as architector, 
or magister, authoritatively directing his operarii, laborers, and artifices, skilled artisans. 

The present edifice is a reconstruction of the old cathedral of San Geminiano, the 
patron saint of the municipality, about whose shrine had grown up the then new Modena, 
“the city we know today. The rebuilding had reached such a point by 1106 that, amid the 
most solemn rites, at which the great Lanfranco and the illustrious Countess Matilda 
assisted and in which even Pope Pascal II with a great throng of cardinals and higher clergy 
took part, the sacred relics of the saint were deposited beneath the altar in the crypt of 
the new church, which was “dedicated,’’ according to an old document in the archives, 

‘in honor of Mary, the blessed Mother of God.” At the time of its solemn consecration 
in 1184, the main body of the church and the lower part of the campanile were finished. 
However, much was still to be done, so that with additions and improvements, the entire 
edifice was not completed until 1319 when, it is recorded, a golden apple was placed on 
the pinnacle of the campanile, known subsequently as the Torre Ghirlandina. 

But as in all such monumental edifices of the Middle Ages there was ample field for 
finishing touches, additions, changes, not always happy or in accord with the original work, 
running through succeeding centuries. The fact is that such structures seem to have 
been begun and carried through without any definite preliminary plan or working drawings, 
except such as might be safely locked in the brain of some such great builder as Lanfranco. 
Tradition, through building guilds, would carry the work on as occasion permitted. Thus 
the great cathedrals grew, much as an epic grows, with a nucleus due to some great originat- 
ing mind, and an outer changing form, sometimes incongruous enough, which in the main 
organically expressed the original and in time became the finished work we know. See 
Porter, Lombard Architecture, Vol. 111, pp. 2-47. 

The part the great mason guilds of the Middle Ages played in this work is evident, 
but Professor Porter’s chapter on ‘“‘Master Builders’’ in Vol. I of his Lombard Architecture 
should be consulted on this subject. [£d.] 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


98 





Modena. 


ng of the Cathedral 


ick Vaulti 


Br 


PuLaTE 100 


MIDDLE AGES 99 


eA 


% 


seek: ae 





Pxiate 101. Abbey Church of San Silvestro, Nonantola. 


100 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


work does not have the same excellence as that of the Cathedral 
interior at Modena. 

San Mercuriale, Forli (Plate 102), belonging to the end of the 
xi century, has retained very little of its original lines. It 
is disfigured by baroque additions such as the lateral scrolls and 
the other crowning lines. On the other hand, the campanile 
(1180), 75 meters in height [246 feet], has remained almost intact. 
Its top cornice, unfortunately obscured in shadow, is enriched by 
a light gallery, with marked aesthetic effect. 

At the beginning of the xm century, we still find a pure 
Lombard architecture as in Santa Croce at Parma; San Michele 
at Cremona (Plates 103-104), founded in 618 by Queen Theode- 
linda and reconstructed in unusually fine brickwork toward the 
close of the xm century; and San Marco at Jesi (Plate 105), 
which has a splendid rose window in terra cotta, probably 
imported from the nearby Chiaravalle. 

With the spread of the Franciscan and Dominican religious 
orders, there began a slight invasion of foreign forms which we 
first note in the Cistercian Abbey Church of Chiaravalle (Plate 
106) near Milan. With the exception of some ogival openings, 
probably of a later date than the original construction (1172- 
1221), and the lantern, characteristic of French Cistercian 
churches, the exterior of this abbey adheres closely to traditional 
Italian forms, a splendid monument in which the beautiful clear 
red of the brick is not disturbed by elements in stone, as the 
columns, pilasters, and cornices are all in the original burned 
clay. In a section of a window of the lantern, we notice indica- 

tions of an altogether new 

iS decorative movement which was 
ae Seana beginning to invade Italian con- 
SSSR OE struction (Fig. 47). Itis interest- 
ing to note the evident influence 

of this noble lantern on Pecorari 
when, acentury or more later, he 
built the strikingly graceful brick 
tower of San Gottardo, once the 
chapel of the Visconti, and now 
part of the xvim century Royal 






















Y/ 


o, 





DS 
&. 


ry 

















Fic. 47. Detail of Tower Window: : 
Chiaravalle. Palace of Milan (Plates 107, 108). 


101 


MIDDLE AGES 


“BUOUIIT) ‘OJOWIJ, UPS “EOL ALVIG 


“IPO ‘eLMIJeyAy UeG JO JOMOT, 


“COL ALVId 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


102 


"Iser “OOTeP, US “COL ALVIg 








“BUOUAI") ‘afaqOIfA, Ue Jo asdy “FOL aLV Ig 
ssaid ApissanUuy) 27D X puD 1910d *foid fo Asajinoy 


MIDDLE AGES 


"asouel apeaeseryy) Jo younyy) Aoqqy “90 ALVIg 





104 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 108. Tower of San Gottardo, Milan. 


Pxiate 107. Apse of San Gottardo, Milan. 


MIDDLE AGE 





105 





PLatTeE 110. Detail in Portico of Cloister, Chiaravalle Milanese. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


*yUOUIPsig 
‘eYV Bial[sjng ‘Auoyqjuy “49 Jo [eyidsoyy “ZL. ALVIg 


aTTPABIEIY) ‘TEA J0ySIO[) 


‘asoue]I yA 
UI gpeUJeqey, JO [e9q “LIL ALVIg 








MIDDLE AGES 107 





queens: of Prof. Porter and Yale University Press 
Puate 113. Abbey Church of Chiaravalle della Colomba. 


The Cloister of Chiaravalle (Plates 109, 110) very clearly 
suggests an idea of the beauty of the cornices, enriched as they 
are by a rope decoration above a graceful interplay of small 
pendent arches. Here new expression in brick decoration may 
be found in the band above this arcading in which small square 
bricks are set corner to corner, seen also in the beautiful chapel 
(Plate 111) where these same small square bricks are set with 
beautiful decorative effect in the form of crosses. 

Equally worthy of note is the splendid Abbey Church of 
Chiaravalle della Colomba, Santa Maria, somewhat earlier in 
the xm century than the Milanese example. The narthex be- 
longs to the end of the century. The modern restoration has 
left the original lines substantially intact (Plate 113). 

The pointed arch entered but gradually into Lombard archi- 
tecture. Up to this time it had found its way only into some 
local constructions not far from the French frontier, as at 
Buttigliera where it existed as far back as the xm century 
(Plate 112). In the magnificent Cathedral of Borgo San Donnino, 
begun in 1207, pointed arches between the buttresses support 
the projecting masonry of the upper story along which runs 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


108 


‘ouTUUOG Ueg OS10g ‘feIpey}eD Jo yueLY YING “PTT 


ALVIg 


ee. wT 











MIDDLE AGES 109 


an open arcaded gallery (Plate 114). We find the ogival also in 
Central Italy, about the middle of the x1 century, in the 
campanile of the Cathedral at San Severino (Plate 115). In fact, 
these architectural forms, varying slightly with the location, 
may be found in Italian churches throughout the entire x11 
century. ? 

At Cremona, the Cathedral (Plate 116), constructed in 1109, 
was rebuilt on a grander scale in 1124 of beautiful yellowish red 
brick, excepting the stone facade, with later additions in the 
xi and xtv centuries. To this later period belong the very beau- 
tiful rose windows of the transepts, in brick and terra cotta of 
local manufacture (Plates 117, 118). At Crema, the Cathedral 
(Plate 119), built of a yellowish orange brick, has an unusual 
profusion of terra cotta around the various openings. In the 
different details here 
given (Figs. 48, 49), we 
may see altogether 
new mouldings, which 
pave the way for the 
development of the 
Lombard - Gothic 
style. 

At Bologna, we 
have a most remark- 
able example of brick 
decoration in the 
group of churches 
known generally un- 
der the name of Santo 
Stefano (Fig. 50c).' 
This group is compos- 
ed of seven churches, 
the three most impor- 
tant of which are seen 
in Plate 121. At the 
left, is the Basilica of 
Santi Pietro e Paolo, 
the exterior restored 
in 1880-85 after the PLATE 115. The Old Cathedral, San Severino. 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 








Cremona. 


9 


istery of the Cathedral 


The Torrazzo and Bapt 


PLATE 116 


LE 


MIDDLE AGES 





PuatE 117. North Transept of the Cathedral, Cremona. 


112 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 118. South Transept of the Cathedral, Cremona. 





MIDDLE AGES 





PxiaTe 119. Cathedral, Crema. 


114 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


medieval type, the portal of which is worthy of study (Plate 124). 
In the center, is the octagonal San Sepolcro; and on the right, the 
simplest in its external decoration, is the Chiesa del Crocifisso with 
its xu century vaulted 
brick pulpit on the left 
corner. The cornices 
of these three churches 
are worthy of note as 
showing varied treat- 
ments of the same sim- 
ple motives (Fig. 505). 

We enter first the 
Church of the Crucifix. 
The presbytery is dis- 
figured by constructions 
of 1637 but the nave 
has preserved its origi- 
nal character (Plate 
.125). The 


brick, 












































Fic. 48. Detail of Facade Window, Crema. 


of a light-red color, are of the large 
size 8x32x16 cm. [3.2x12.6x6.3 in.] with 
mortar joints from 1.5 to 2 cm. [0.6 to 

0.8 in.]. On the wall left of the choir 

en ff may be seen a band of herringbone 
po fF pattern with a wider one above, where 
i there is a resumption of the motive 
found on the exterior of the polygonal 
cupola of San Sepolcro (Plate 121), 
an edifice which is probably an x1 - 
century reconstruction of an ancient 
baptistery with a characteristic base. 
=== The exterior wall of the cupola is also 
eg hen AR a orc a characteristic; its surface is decorated 
Crema. with simple patterns of red and yellow 


Lal h "| 
q q] 

By Ath eer | |, 
ey 


e 









‘oes 
Ener, 
lx 


‘J 









\ hs 


Ya 

















MIDDLE AGES | 115 


(Sos ee 


Pa pe Se MARIA BARS 
es re ae aes ibe 
5 = ee = 


(3 5 a ge = 
: ae ah ae 
i : Zy 


1%), Uys 




































ae aie 
Mdipps: : ! 
iy xy Q a 
cme aat : 
/ ‘ ! 


i a as Mp yx, \ 
iva 5 yea 























SCF 


ON 























ES Se 





= b ZL Mg eM x ‘ \ pf ¢ 
ail = Q A] x \ \ poner 5 
eee ee tr - | 
= S Fi AW \\VF ey VY, 
nN \ x78 y VE “yon A $ \\y / .. 


— Wy 
TARA easy i ae UD} 
iy wR 1, WS 
fon Os ah = Mp 7, 
o> an ius a 





SE ES 


BZ 











note ed Sait 


























pe Seen BS ee Sa 























yes Sp, ec ees 
\ a, git : 





Hie 


a. Window in San Sepolcro. i 








chiesa gy Ip 5. SEPUKCRO 


































an 
! Wa, 
DEL SOLA 1h SS PIETRO ZS LW YL 
‘ a} hy {Pr 2 RSS {| 
cRociFissoY Uy ip /E € PAOLO mon aN “er 
A a YY, on ey ia? ey aul Ke py ”, 
a) Chua, ¥ TING) 
es UM ey & A WghN 
CAPPELLA eae Pee) PM MONI: 
DELLA x x wa 
CON SOL- ‘ . A TRIO oat MS 
AZIONE. a : as Se 
{ tae 


Pi PILATO ei oo 2 





fur IN 
é tot G 
a a aa Yo 





He ta CAPPELLA 
DELLA STA 
ijyjy  FACIGLIA 






ST GGG pp yyw Hi 











CAPPELLA 
DEGLI 55. 


QVARANTA 








a8 
hf 
bay: 
a 
5 
ig 
R 
Oi. 


—— —s 
XXX? 
fe es 













beat 


TRUD nA: 


Gi, Zs YY OCYLTETEEEEEE 
pe ech 5 Nema 
VL, Z Te he 


















WS 





Fre. 50. Plans and Details of St. Stephen’s, Bologna. 


116 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Jygeytrp eb t tes 


O» 











~\ 
QO 














St 
SWS 
MLYQ.VB 

5 








WN 
WS 
WS 


4 





~ 
SS 











™ Baroy 








3M 


ee. 


Fic. 51. Gallery Plan of San Sepolcro, Inner Pilaster and Section. 











Mana BAResyo her 


Fic. 52. Typanum in San Sepolcro, and Rosettes in Portico of Pilate. 


——— a 








MIDDLE AGES 










































































































































































Ee; 
e 
Pat 















































rier 
TF 
é 14 
ereRbSC O10 SEES Eh emme 


vase! ban gape roe anid 
ya A UT, 


SELMSTAISES TT 





























ES es i 2 





Coa z 4 Sry ge 
ei, Ciglin. 2 Yin, Diyyp ttt th tty Wty ttn, 614th nla Vth tty “ny Wl frp, M,%t, 
AH iti be OA OEE EEE EEE 
of 4 y VLG V4 bo of LY le Uf ts is Tiygd, GALGELMAGIG ly Fy, 
a Z OL. MMO IISETEEEEEL EK: 


Fie. 53. Detail of Interior and Plan of San Sepolcro, Bologna. 


Sen 





Sy a ee ne et er F 


117 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


118 


‘eusojog ‘dno ouejoyg Ueg 94} Ul SeyoINY,) voIG, “TZ1 ALVId 














ie : 
oe E, 
an 


iss Sa 
4 


Seckeasioespianvid 





~ 


ilies 


aaa 
ie 





d Ana 


e=--- EN 1----9 ©----€'I----5 


gabe Sn ( ay eis H¢ re ee ; . 
' Ste cts “0s seooo--===------¢6'¢ 


ae ae 





== Oe le e——E———— 


MIDDLE AGES 


119 


bricks. Likewise the tympana of the arches in the first story 
are decorated with pretty rosettes, the designs of which are 
accentuated by the contrast of the brick colors (Figs. 50d, 52). 





PuatTE 124. Main Portal of Santi Pietro e Paolo, Bologna. 


A pleasant sur- 
prise, however, is 
afforded by the 
decoration of the 
opposite side of 
this church in the 
socalled Alrio di 
Pilato (Court of 
Pilate, Plates 120, 
123). Here we find 
an unbridled suc- 
cession of the 
strangest combi- 
nations, of motives 
intermingled with 
the most pleasing 
effects. From top 
to bottom of the 
wall, we see numb- 
ers of rosettes 
worked outin great 
detail. At the top 
thereisa band 
made up of small 
crosses, in which 
the arms are com- 
mon to two consec- 


utive crosses, producing a double decorative motive as the ele- 
ments of the crosses are cut out of yellow brick while the back- 
ground is of red brick. Intermingled with all are six-pointed stars 
which produce a beautiful decorative effect. Further down there 
appears herringbone designs interspersed with star-shaped ro- 
settes and checkerboard motives among which, here and there, 
pieces of limestone are substituted for the yellow brick and 
porphyry fragments for the red brick. There are also small square 
bricks set corner to corner asin the Abbey Church of Chiaravalle. 


120 


BRICKWORK IN [ITALY 


PLATE 126. Interior of San Sepolcro. 


P 
5 
e 





- 





oF 


se 











MIDDLE AGES 12] 


The combinations in the portico are curious (Plate 123). The 
rosettes originally had bowl-like ornaments in the center, one 
of which, of a violet-red color, has been recently discovered. 
The motives are most varied, as may be seen in our illustrations 
(Fig. 52). The bases of the best-preserved columns are also in 
brick from 6 to 6.5 cm. [2.4-2.6 in] in. thickness, cut with the 
hammer. The interior of San Sepolcro (Plates 126, 127, Figs. 51, 
53) in red brick with its mellowed patina of age inspires a sen- 
timent of wrapt mysticism through the austerity of line and 
color. 

At the opposite end of the Court of Pilate from San 
Sepolcro is Santissima Trinita with chapel beyond, (Plates 128, 
129, 130) restored in beautiful creamy yellow brickwork by 
Edoardo Collamarini, Professor in the Royal Academy of Fine 
Arts at Bologna. On the interior of Sts. Peter and Paul (Plate 
131) a rich varied red brick has been used in piers and walls 
with a very pleasing effect. 

The great Cloister, adjoining the Court of Pilate and in the 
rear of the Church of the Crucifix, is impressive in the harmony 
of its colors which age has softened into a misty gold (Plate 132). 
Its lower story goes back to the rx century while the upper 
belongs to the early years of the x1. Here also we find the 
most varied combinations in the spandrels of the upper arches. 
The latter are constructed of curved brick which in length are 
the full width of the intrados, or 40 cm. [15.8 in.]; they are 5 cm. 
[1.9 in.] thick, recessed 6 cm. [2.4 in.] from both the interior 
and exterior faces of the extrados brick, which are also 5 cm. 
thick. There are two cornices, the profiles of which are given 
in Fig. 50,e and g. In Fig. 50e, under the line of the brackets is 
seen an inclined band of bricks cut in a geometrical design. 
The frieze consists of three brick courses, each 6 cm. [2.4 in.] 
wide, the middle one of which is carved in two _ prevailing 
motives—a line of small diagonally set squares and a triangu- 
lar fret (Fig. 50g). Then comes the row of brackets above, 
each cut on a single brick in the most varied forms, of 
which we give in outline the simplest and most characteristic 
(Fig. 50f). 

The Basilica of Sant’ Andrea at Vercelli (Plates 133, 134), built 
between 1219 and 1224, should also be included in our review 


ESTE beds See eee 
sob eo idea: 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PuiaTe 129. Entrance to Holy Trinity, St. Stephen’s, Bologna. 


PLATE 130. Sanctuary of Holy Trinity, St. Stephen’s, Bologna. 


. 


] 


MIDDLE AGES 


‘eusojog ‘s,uaqda}s 





S 


. 


[neg pue Jojeq ‘81S 


jo JOlIoyUT 


Tél 


5 


aALVIg 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


124 


“eusojog 


‘s usydatg “1G JO JoySIO[D “JET ALWIg 





MIDDLE AGES 125 


as one of the finest brick churches of this time, very remarkable 
both for the beauty of its lines and for its skillful construction. 
Though erected by canons from Paris, Romanesque lines are 
preserved on the exterior, but the interior is modeled after the 
early Gothic of Northern France. 

During this period, civil architecture was fully established 
in the form of towers, public palaces, municipal buildings, and 
city halls. At Treviso, we still find very pure forms in the Palazzo 
det Trecento, built in 1184 (Plate 135) but recently restored by 
Giulio Nivi. Much in the same spirit is the restoration of the 
Palazzo Provinciale, or Prefecture, to the left, done by Camillo 
Boito. 

At Cremona, the Palazzo Comunale and the Torrazzo are very 
remarkable for their profusion of terra cotta of exquisite work- 
manship. The former (Plate 136), erected between 1206 and 1245, 
possesses altogether new decorative elements; the pointed arch 
has already been introduced in the portico. The tower belongs 
to an earlier period, while the tribune on the center pier belongs 
to the xvi century. The Torrazzo (Plate 116), erected between 
1250 and 1267 has two- and four-light openings beautifully 
framed in pointed arches. To the right is seen the large octagonal 
brick Baptistery belonging to the x1 century. 

At Piacenza, the Palazzo del Comune (Plate 137), begun in 
1281, which stands out prominently among other buildings of 
the town, has three- and four-light openings of unparalleled 
beauty which are adorned with friezes of the greatest variety, 
done with the hammer. The east end (Plate 139) is gabled and 
has above the two three-light openings a graceful rose window 
in terra cotta. The west end (Plate 138) presents a still finer 
effect in a very beautiful opening of many lights with slender 
binate columns, the whole finely framed above two three-light 
openings. At Monza, the Palazzo Arengario, or Town Hall (Plate 
140), was erected in 1293 with another tower than the present 
one. Herringbone decoration is seen in some of the window 
spandrels. 

At Fano the Palazzo della Ragione, or Court of Justice (Plate 
141), preserves very pure lines. The spandrels show characteristic 
arrangements altogether new and of great variety. The Cloister 
of San Niccold at Tolentino (Plate 153), with its square, 


126 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 133. Sant’ Andrea, Vercelli, Piedmont. 


127 


E AGES 


MIDDL 





PLATE 134. Apse of Sant’ Andrea, Vercelli. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


“(VWep ounuULuO’) 94} JO JOMOT, pue voeled [ePlouIAOIG ‘(qS11) OJUDI0IT, 9G} JO OB[eg “CE, ALVIg 





MIDDLE AGES 





"BUOUaI) ‘QORTeg [PEUNUIUIOT) “9E]T ALVIG 





130 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 138. West End of Communal Palace, Piacenza. 


MIDDLE AGES 131 





Puate 139. East End of Communal Palace, Piacenza. 


132 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Cite 


ye) 


ei 


ee 
. 
4 
x 





PLATE 140. Palace of the Commune, or Arengario, Monza. 


MIDDLE AGES 





PuaTE 142 Campanile of Cathedral, Gaeta. 


PLATE 141 Palace of Justice, now a Theatre, Fano. 


134 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


round, and grouped brick columns, also reveals the purest 
lines. 

A peculiar form of construction of the period were immense 
brick towers, built originally for defense and meant to show the 
power and wealth of the builder. The Torre degli Anguillara in 
the Trastevere at Rome (Plate 143), built by a member of the 
powerful Orsini family, is characteristic of the times, as is the 
tower at Ravenna built by the commune (Plate 144). At 
Bologna the towers of the Garisendi and the Asinelli, erected at the — 
beginning of the xir century, survive out of the 180 which are 
said to have belonged to the city’s nobility at that time. The first 
which remained unfinished on account of settlement in the ground 
is only 47.5 meters [155.8 ft.] in height, the second, seen in Plate 
145, rises 97.6 meters [320.2ft.] with abreadthof 12 meters|39.4ft. | 
Such characteristic towers of the period are found everywhere. 
At Rome the Torre de’ Capocci (Plate 146), at one time in the 
possession of Vanozza de’ Catanei, mother of Lucretia and 
Caesar Borgia; the Torre delle Milizie, or di Nerone because that 
wicked emperor was in popular tradition supposed to have 
watched from its summit the burning of Rome (Plate 147); and 
the Torre de’ Conti (Plate 148), built during the pontificate of 
Innocent III (1198-1216), a member of the Conti family, were 
constructed in those troublous social and political times of the 
x1 and xu centuries. 


We also see at this epoch the beginnings of fortress construc- 
tion, well-preserved examples of which may be found in the xm1 
century, as the Rocca Sanvitale, at Fontanellato near Parma, and 
the Rocca di Caterina Sforzaat Forli(Plates 149, 150). TheCastello di 
Ostia, near Ostia, and the Castello delle Quattro Torri, near Siena 
(Plates 151, 152), although of later construction, illustrate the 
same general type. As a part of the necessary civic protection 
of the day were the fine xiv century city gates of Siena, of which 
the Porta Romana is a striking example (Plate 154). 


Southern Italy is poorly represented in brick architecture; 
clay is scarce and stone is very common. But a good idea of the 
forms in this region, varying between Moorish and the Roman- 
esque influences, may be had at Gaeta in the campanile of 
the Cathedral which rises in very harmonious proportions 
(Plate 142). 


4 


MIDDLE AGES 


"BUUDARY JO JOMOT, [PUNUIUIO') “Ppl ALVIg 





Pree 


® 


POLORELEIDLPLELILD LE HISD AGEL ED AD 


"pai07sey] 


‘oULOY ‘eIeyNsuy sO], “EPL ALVIg 





MIDDLE AGES 


136 


euoy ‘Koodde") ay} JO JaMOT, ‘OP[ ALVIgG 


euso[og ‘JoUIsy JO JaMOy, “Spl ALVIg 





137 


MIDDLE AGES 


UO, oP JO, 


8V 


[ SLV1g 





‘QUIOY ‘VUOIO\] JO ‘VIZI[IA, e]Jep e1IO], 


LVL SLVId 





138 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 149. Rocca Sanvitale, Fontanellato. 





PLATE 150. Rocca di Caterina Sforza, Forli. 


MIDDLE AGES 139 





Pirate 151. The Castle near Ostia. 





140 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PuLaTE 154. Porta Romana, Siena. 


MIDDLE AGES 141 





PLATE 155. Windows in the Borgheresi Palace, San Gimignano. 


THe Goruic PERIOD 


During this period,' there was in Italy an architecture which, 
though adopting a few elements from the new style, remained 
on the whole purely Italian. The pointed arch, which indeed 
is often associated with the semicircular arch, usually has the 
centers of its two curves at the ends of the span; at times, when 
the arch is less slender, the two centers divide the span into 
three parts; while, in very pointed arches, the centers fall outside 
the span altogether. The meeting of the bricks at the apex of 
the arch resulted in an imperfect keying, if it was desired to 
keep the joints normal to the line of the intrados. But this 
difficulty was overcome by using a stone key block; or, as 
in Tuscany (Plates 155, 156), the exact keying of the brick 
might be secured by making the joints converge toward a single 
center. 

Flying buttresses grew more slender and presented a less 
robust appearance than in the preceding period. Decorative 


1. G. GIovANNONI: Gli stili architetlonict. Borro: L’architettura nel Medio Evo in Italia. 
VERDIER ET Catrots: Architecture civile et domestique en Moyen Age. 


142 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


cornices, though often approaching classical outlines, are com- 
paratively small, show little projection, and are often supported 
by a series of small arches, as in the Mercanzia at Bologna 
(Plate 157). These small arches in gabled fronts are frequently 
set out of plumb, or normal to the slope of the roof as, for 
example, in the facade of San Francesco at Bologna, where we 
also see a return to decoration in enameled bowl-like ornaments 
forming a line below the small crowning arches (Plate 158). 

On interiors, brick piers upon which the groin arches are 
gathered often have mouldings executed on the brick with very 
delicate hammer work, made possible by the excellent quality 
of the brick. These mouldings are sometimes rather complex, 
especially when the brick are laid in regular zones in connection 
with stone, the moulding of which they follow with great pre- 
cision. The groins of the vaults have the brick either simply 
chamfered or cut in semi-circular or more elaborate forms, 
as shown in Fig. 54. 

The architecture of this period. still retains local character, 
so much so that writers on the subject like Giovannoni find it 
necessary to make distinction among various Gothic styles, as 
Lombard, Venetian, Tuscan, Sienese, Lucchese, etc. It is inter- 
esting to note that in order to manufacture terra cotta for the 
decoration of brick buildings, gener- 
ally of a little lighter tone than the 
brick, special equipment was now 
added to almost all kilns and many 
excellent artists devoted themselves 
to its manufacture. 

At Bologna, the Church of San 
Francesco, built between 1236 and 
1263, belongs to this period, especially 
because of its characteristic apse 
(Plate 159). The lofty bell tower and 
the tombs of two great jurists at the 
rear, of which only that of Messer : 
Accursio is seen in the illustration, are Yj 
more than a century and half later. J 7 Z J, 
The pointed tops of the tombs are in ; 
enameled green brick. The vestibule he. $4. 





143 


MIDDLE AGES 


“eusolog 


‘g0J0UIUIOT) JO Joqurey’) JO eIZURdJEIA 


LST SLVIg 





‘OUBUSIUILD URg ‘Q0RTeg TOOeUL], UL SMOPUT AA 


9ST ALVIg 





144 


BRICKWORK IN 


ITALY 





San Francesco, Bologna. 


PuaTE 158. 


A 
i 
cf 


noes Ss 
PC ys (2h 


ae 


aN Fol 

a ee 

Ti Ps Rages 
as 





il ui pea 
eee 
iu 





MIDDLE AGES 145 


entrance to the South Transept, with its splendid Romanesque 
arch (restored) and columns of banded brick and stone, is 
worthy of note (Plate 160). 

We find in Bologna a whole group of monuments similar to 
San Francesco, with their rose windows, their long, symmetrical 
light openings, and their facades outlined along the slopes of 
the roof with cornices such as previously described. Thus San 
Giacomo Maggiore (Plate 161), which shows a little progress 
in Gothic feeling, is closely related to San Francesco. The great 
rectangular window may have better lighted the new xvi 
century interior but it was no substitute for the original rose 
window. The arches and the tombs flanking the entrance 
should be noted. 

At Verona the fine Benedictine Church of San Fermo Mag- 
giore (Plate 162), though belonging to the Romanesque period of 
the x1 and x11 centuries, shows in its reconstruction of the early 
xiv century the Gothic influence of the times. Its brick and 
marble courses of the facade characterize much Veronese work 
of the Middle Ages. 

Cremona remains more than ever bound to traditional forms 
and the pointed arch as seen in Sant Agostino seems to follow 
with difficulty the invading new style (Plate 163). 

At Venice, the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Plates 164, 
165, 167, Fig. 55) begun in 1246, with elements in its facade of 
a later epoch; and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari or simply I 
Frart, of which is shown a detail of the apse (Plate 168, Fig. 56), rep- 
resent here the most famous examples of this epoch. The 
accompanying drawings somewhat indicate the high degree of 
skill which craftsmanship in brickwork had attained during 
this period (Figs. 57, 58). 

At Vicenza, the beautiful San Lorenzo of 1280 (Plate 169) has 
a sumptuous facade in which the recesses under the pointed 
arches accommodate the characteristic tombs. The portal which 
was added in 1344 and the cornices, it will be observed, preserve 
a purely Lombard feeling. In the church of San Niccolo at 
Treviso (Plate 166), built in the early x1v and restored during the 
last century, we have the characteristic apse rising into great 
long windows between lofty pilasters in which the Gothic feeling 
has well nigh-disappeared. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


146 





147 


MIDDLE AGES 


Pe 


pak 


Rew oon. 


SETS SRK 


“BUOIOA ‘OIOISSEIA, OULIO UBS *ZO[ ALVIG 





148 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





ssp 3 


PLATE 163. Sant’ Agostino, Cremona. 


In the Piedmontese churches, as in the Cathedral of Saluzzo 
and in San Domenico at Turin (Plate 170), originally of the 
XIV century, we frequently find the motive of a very acute 
triangular pediment above the door, reaching as in San Domenico 
the rose window which gives light to the nave from the facade. 
This motive was later corrupted in its striving for lobated lines 
as in the Cathedral at Asti (Plate 171). The interior of San 
Domenico is beautifully finished in brick piers and nave arches 
and groins (Plate 172). This treatment is frequent, although at 
times the brick in blended tones of red are so skillfully painted 
on a thin coating of plaster, covering the common brick core, as 
to deceive the very elect, as in Santa Maria del Carmine, Milan, 
Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, ete. 

Central Italy is more completely bound to the traditions of 
the preceding period. Thus in the Cloister of San Giuliano at 
Perugia (Plate 173), which belongs to the second half of the 
xt century, the arches are just barely pointed, having been 
toned down by a slight chamfer on the intrados, done with a few 
strokes of the hammer on the finished masonry. In the campa-- 


149 


Ss 


~ 
4 
4 


‘ 
I 


AC 


a 
4 
4 


MIDDLI 


‘Q01U9 A “O[ORd 9 


BE errr 


HO 


IUUBAOLY) UBS “POL ALWId 








— 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


150 


“OSIADL], ‘QTOOOIN] Ue jo osdy “99, ALVIg 


‘OjOeg 9 TUUBAOTY) TUBS Jo osdy “SOT ALVIG 


in sdibld 
ii} 





(ype Thane 
Su? SSeS 
es anes y 


; ed as te 
ey NN i ¥ 


eo a 
seuteghes “ena 7 
x ee 


#6 


"i vit i Ws 





2 
= 
; 


aes ata 
rt 








4AM. 


ard 





cartes 


TT 









MIDDLE AGES 


c 





TTT 


Se ee 
iS naa 
Q s = 


















me 






Sakc> ak aR ll ak as ak 
: STO SalIZA 


WA 











NI 















































































2 
as} 

















































oan 


|Ssael aga ie 
! 
eae Geese 
ig fad ren 2 
; | Eee 
4 ae = 
epg ee 
a ale 
sla 
raaieale 


HEU 
a} Ha o 





Elche Wetec t petty pet 






rd 








rH 


AL 
FA 











| PTET TTT TET] 
ob LT 
Ee 
<r ee 
as a a 





& 



















TT 
I . r 
tal | 
i =e 
2 te a 
nae a mia 
EF see 
=a = 
pease pes) 
ses nao 
= BH Saas 
=== ie Ste at 
ian = eee ee cae 
Scie Seite 
—-~-}58 or sg aes 
reg iol Filenames 
= hie ieetee = 
=e Setisiee | 
a aiee sy (SE a4 
sara ea si wea all H 
=e ppes = A 
= - Pee 
eer eg ~ Sa a ee ee 
Se Seat eas HK 
= List é a eg esks, E1q 
aa Shee es EF 
Sas 42 
— | 18 Peete as: 
—Thf referer ae: 
Sash Eater! =: 
= ae pap 3} 
=e Saceesed 
as eat = 
= h ; 
Saree Sey F4 
ae men aobelees ai, 
—— ah Bien eey oe ie 
=e Re rl 4 
= Fo Weer = ee 
aaa LUA GH Sey ened oescs os an 
— acs | [oon wall 
= op (EE ee) = = Fee 
SSS) bt pe oe 
; = a 
Ses 4h BSS Se = 4 
Poeabecteas em alae ics: 
= “Seo aSye= jpyee 1 + 
se = ae eb 
—_; =. af evel 4 
= Wee go are oe) ope 
eee. eet 
ee 















































1H 








eet at 
a ae a SN 
aa eS eee Pees iz 
==. wa Sects earn =~ 1 
=e) 













































































Fig. 55. Detail of the Addolorata, Venice. 





UUs Y, 





Betip 


MARIA 
BARROSO 


Wa 
eae, 








TIM iyi dit tT 


Coit 


rl 
Wty 


PT 


TT 


| 





TTT] TLtir itr itiy 





ep a 





aN SROPARBRSEANREAUUGIOIINIGUER 


MN 
AY 


= 


My TM 1 Wg 

ae = Se SS 
ATT a TT ! ri a N\A « SARS 
SOS = NS NSS NN S 


WO TT 
\ 


Li 


15] 










PPT 


MPTP ETETE REET 


\ 


\\ 


\\ 
WW\ 


\ 
‘ 


152 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 






SS ea ee 
3 abe St al 
7, 


poe nn nn 
CMC TILO EYL COURT 
~ Pee = OF a eee me 


os < ~~ 








“ae 








7] WUMUTI HIM CT HNTTT 








Parris ee et 




































































































































V/A 
Y/R 
=: 




















































































































































































































ee St 








= 



































MARIA 
BAR?SS0- 


























Bu ee inty 




























aS 



































Fic. 56. Detail of Buttress and Windows, the Frari, Venice. 





>» 





MIDDLE AGES 153 





















QAM ‘aa | = Se ae 1 J Re 


Wa cease 1 aircon —— 7. 
i nD aa ee 
i a 
\ mM ne UA i 
W yy Ne oe 
as 
2) 
































Ti NE LOREM nent. 


= . SS AS 
a 


hme — 
=~ y & py VW = yr ee 


r 
ay 
ty Vy Drsk Ai, Ar (il) Aue Ing wi Ins f 4 Lil) : 
SK a =J- 
es Ow C se ayers 















Yvoes popes rece 
GMM M0 









U 
\ 







































































































MARIA BAKO SSO 


58. Detail of the Frari Campanile, 
Santo anne Venice. Venice. 


niles of the x1v century the cornices are to be seen as saw-tooth 
courses supported on brick set as brackets, much as we have 
seen in similar structures of the x1 and xi centuries. 

Among the constructions of this period, Sant’Antonio at 
Padua (Plate 174), which evidently emulates the domical design 
of St. Mark’s at Venice, reveals somewhat independent lines, due 
to certain hybrid forms which however are fused into a harmoni- 
ous whole. In the facade, we find horizontal members which 
indicate a relation to preceding monuments; at the base of the 
pediment we have an elaborate horizontal arcade which is not 
found on the sides. On the other hand, the Chapel of the Scro- 
vegni, or Madonna dell’ Arena, built of beautiful red brick, is 
very simple and of the purest lines (Plate 175), getting its dis- 
tinction from the glories of Giotto, housed within. Another 
church of Padua deserving mention is the Hremitani, an old 
Augustinian church built about 1350 but, as seen today, a 
restoration of the last century (Plate 176). 

The Certosa of Pavia (Plate 225) is late Gothic, already 
srowing weary of the pointed arch. On account of the period of 


154 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 169. San Lorenzo, Vicenza. 





PuaTE 170. San Domenico, Turin. 


155 


MIDDLE AGES 


‘ULIN |, ‘OOTUIUIOG, UG JO JOMIOJUT “ZL ALWIg 





ey: 


6 


Jerpoyqyey) PUL 


TILT SLV1g 





156 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PuLatTe 173. Cloister of San Giuliano, Perugia. 


its construction (1396-1499), it shows traces of the new inspi- 
ration which was invading Italy, but because of its pin- 
nacle-crowned buttresses and the lantern which recalls 
those of the Cistercian churches of France, it may be men- 
tioned here. 

Civil construction developed, in the main, along the lines 
of the preceding period, with the exception of the pointed arch 
which from now on especially appeared in the upper stories. 
Cornices were almost always of terra cotta in which the modeling 
of real masters produced a fine play of light and shade for the 
eye of the art-lover. Thus at Cremona, in the Palazzo det 
Giureconsultt (Plate 177) the brick and terra cotta are finely 
blended in bands, archivolts, and labels by the patient work 
of the hammer. <A very beautiful example of such work 
is seen in the windows of the Mercanzia at Bologna (Figs. 
59, 60). 

About the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and the adjoining Piazza 
del Nettuno, Bologna, one of the most picturesque and interesting 
public squares in Italy, are grouped such buildings as the 
Palazzo Comunale (Plate 178), the Palazzo dei Notai (Plate 179), 


AGES 


- 
BF 


MIDDLI 


| 


enpeg ‘eB yefeuleyyer) SO]Ja}BUOG YIM 


‘OlUOJUY UBS “PLT ALVIg 





158 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 176. Church of the Eremitani, Padua. 


159 


MIDDLE AGES 


echinonttinamancuiea in ee 


Seabee ne meester enA 
Noi . ee 


ry 


ae 


Bix 





iureconsulti, Cremona. 


PLATE 177. Palace of the G 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


160 


“6G “Bly UL MOpUTAA JO [LeIEG “09 “O14 






















Téa: <A 
MI Ce a : ; 
WN ely V} 
S SS, tt wy V/ 
5 Da od 
1” VOR) CEs aS ab ab : 
Ta NS eS eames aes 07 5)/8\ 
' 1) ——— 
a % x i Soraya sa a Baal VA 






O2yeuay ras 
ovbaseg 


4 
<a 
Ae 
~y 





Bysour/ enep' 
PLOM ITU) BJter7' 








‘ ‘TB yas 
| Sere a lems 
alt oa 2L0IZIS WLOO ae | 


“BUSO[Og ‘RIZUBOJOJA, OY} JO MOPULAY Y “6S 


‘OL 





MIDDLE AGES 161 


4 

€ 
: 

a 


8. Communal Palace, Bologna. 


= 
‘ 


PLATE 1 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PxuaTE 180. Palazzo di Re Enzio, Bologna. 


MIDDLE AGES 163 





PLATE 181. Palazzo del Podesta, Bologna. 


164 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLaTEe 182. Malatesta Palace, Fano.’ 


the Palazzo di Re Enztio (Plate 180), the Palazzo del Podesta 
(Plate 181), and the great church of San Petronio with its un- 
finished walls. These buildings cover the period from the xn 
to the xv centuries and are thoroughly characteristic of the 
period and the locality. At Fano, in the Marches, the Palazzo 
Malatesta (Plate 182) affords an excellent example, while the 
Mercanzia, at Bologna (Plate 157), bears us rapidly toward the 
Tuscan-Gothic. Here, the brick architecture of this period reaches 
its height in the Communal Palace of Siena (Plate 183) with the 
harmony of its masses, the accuracy of its detail, its own pecu- 
liarly characteristic three-light openings, and the quiet color of 
the brick, which is a not too vivid orange tone. At Verona 
the Tower of the Commune with its splendid pointed three-light 
openings and graceful lantern is justly celebrated by Street, 
whose fine rendering is here reproduced (Plate 184). 

At Genoa, in the Palazzo San Giorgio, we find again an at- 
tempt at effect in the arrangement of the brick (Plate 185); for 
example, in the lunette on the left we have the opus spicatum or 
herringbone pattern, and in that of the center an attractive 
variation by running the same pattern diagonally. 


MIDDLE AGES 165 





PLATE 183. Communal Palace, Siena. 


166 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


The castle is of great importance in this period, still repre- 
senting, in a way, a place of defense but made more comfortable 
as a dwelling than in earlier times. The Castello Sforzesco at 
Milan, and the Hstense at Ferrara, to be treated in the next 
period, should be studied as very remarkable examples. 

Side by side with palace and castle, there developed the 
houses of the lesser gentry which had already asserted itself in 
the Romanesque period, such for example as the old home at 
Lucca (Plate 186). At San Gimignano in Tuscany, an important 

















i 


WW 
MUU 


| 





aig 


Ve 





PLATE 184. Tower of the Commune, 
Verona, after Street. 


example is the Palazzetto della 
Propositura, or Provost’s Pal- 
ace, still of the x1m century 
(Plate 187). The small door 
between the two beautiful two- 
light openings gave access to a 
wooden balcony, of which the 
bracket supports alone are now 
seen. In this little Tuscan hill 
town, this type of dwelling had 
a very happy development, as 
illustrated in the two small ad- 
joining houses, shown in Plate 
188. The one on the right, with 
a flattened arch over the single 
pointed portal, has in the first 
story two Florentine windows 
and in the second a large three- 
light opening in the style of 
Lucca, and is surmounted by a 
crown of small round pendent 
arches. ‘The house on the left 
has in the first story two two- 
light openings, each with ogival 
arches enclosed within round 
arches; and in the upper story, 
also two two-light openings with 
pointed arches surmounted by 
pointed arches in the Sienese 
style, in which the brick joints 


t 
\o 
i. 


MIDDLE AGES 


"eoon'T 


‘doys 


UME q 9181 10 


‘elold Ip euoy] “OBL ELV Ig 


HEE 


ahah) 


= 
4 


‘4 
e 


"Beoud+) ‘ad100x) “1G JO 0R[eg 


SBT ELV Ig 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


168 


‘OURUSIULIY) 


ueg ‘aoe[ed lWoeulL, ‘8g. ALWId 


SANUS SUVA 


2 
a 
Z 
Z 

B 
Z 


‘OURUSIWIID) URG ‘v0RTBg SISOAOIg PIO “LEL ALVId 





Tt 


MIDDLE AGES 





169 


imignano. 


PLATE 190. Palace Borgheresi, San G 


rmignano. 


Palace, San Gi 


SI 


S 


PLATE 189. Pratelle 


170 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 191. Detail of Franzesi Palace, San Gimignano. 


converge to a single center at the center of the arch span. The 
Palazzo Pratellesi (Plate 189), built in 1353, has very elegant two- 
light openings with brick arches, decorated as those in the Palazzo 
Franzest (Plate 191), which show small lions and ivy leaves over 
the extrados. The Palazzo Borgheresi (Plate 190) is not inferior 
in its wealth of decoration. Especially noteworthy are the alter- 
nate bands of light and dark brick in the upper stories. At Siena, 
the well-known Palazzo Buonsignori (Plate 192) is a priceless 
example of the purest Sienese style, while the Palazzo Sansedoni 
(Plate 193) reveals the vast extent to which these constructions 
were carried. Bologna has a striking example in the Palazzo 
Tsolani (Plate 195) which reveals the beauty of its original facade 
amid later inferior constructions. A charming entrance to the 
Casa della Porta at Novara shows excellent workmanship in 
handling brick and terra cotta (Plate 196). 

The Venetian Gothic asserts itself splendidly i in palaces where 
the brick is treated with a new feeling. It is a striking character- 
istic that cornices project very slightly although they run along 
almost even with the roof line. Windows often have four and six 


MIDDLE AGES 171 





PLATE 192. Buonsignori Palace, Siena. 


172 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





Puate 194. Court of the Ca d’Oro, Grand Canal, Venice. 


173 


MIDDLE AGES 


"BIWAOKN] ‘8VIOg B][Ip ese) 


96[ ALVId 


“eusojog 


6 


yuryouerg 


A[doulIoJ 


‘g0e]bg lejos] 


C6L ALVIg 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


tt 


Ranta 508 


i 


o% ae 


nin 


ey 


sivead 


1 





° raopinseeasee 


MIDDLE AGES 


, 3 sy 
Hay, 
stint 


4% 
it 





_— 
~) 
un 


1ce. 


° 


Palace, Ven 


jani 


Puate 198.FAr 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


176 


“e0lue A ‘a0eTeg O[OAO [ep lU1Ie7UOT) Ul Ite}s SUIPUTA “(OT TLVIg 





‘90TU9 A “TRUBT) puUBID) ‘oORTeg S,JOpessequIy “66[ ALVIg 





ya 


MIDDLE AGES 177 


lights and the pointed arch strives after new effects, resulting at 
times in a veritable lacework of stone carving (Plates 197, 198, 
199). The bricks of a pinkish yellow color bring out the dec- 
orations in Istrian stone into stronger relief. The courtyards 
are worked out in every detail, the brick pavements often laid in 
the old opus spicatum pattern (Plate 194), or perhaps the mason 
lavishes his skill on a winding stair at one side of the court 
as seen in Plate 200. The Venetian builders did not adopt the 
structural phases of the northern Gothic architecture but content- 
ed themselves with its ornamental features in the pointed arch, 
worked out in new and elaborate forms in all openings. Late 
in being adopted, these Venetian examples may be taken as 
marking the end of the Medieval Period, just before the dawn 
of the Renaissance. 


Pror. Inc. Enrico VERDOZZI 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE PERIODS 
Brick MANUFACTURE AND CONSTRUCTION 


During the Renaissance and following periods, the tradi- 
tional methods of manufacturing brick remained _practic- 
ally unchanged and the products obtained were almost always 
of the best quality. As might be expected, brick dimensions 
varied according to locality. Manufacture continued to develop 
greatly in the Valley of the Po, in the Emilia, in the Marches, 
and generally where stone for construction was scarce. 

The writers of the period tell us of the burnt clay industry 
and the good qualities which should be sought. For example, 
Leon Battista, Alberti! advises digging the clay in the autumn, 
leaving it weather all winter, and moulding the brick only in 
the spring. He says that the brick ought not to be set in the 
kiln until they are very old, and to be considered old, they ought 
to have undergone a period of drying, if possible in the shade, 
for at least two years. Brick, continues Alberti, should be very 
thin in order to burn better, and smoothed as soon as taken from 
the kiln, when still warm. Among the better clays for brick he 
considers those of Samos, Arezzo, and Modena. 

The moulds were usually such as those shown here in Fig. 
61 which were used to make the brick for the construction of 
the cupola of the Cathedral Church or Duomo, Santa Maria 
del Fiore, at Florence. 

In northern Italy and especially in the Emilia, the manu- 
facture of architectural terra cotta also had at this time a very 
great development. It was shaped either in moulds, modeled 
by hand, or perhaps cut after a preliminary burn. It was a most 
flourishing industry and permitted a rich and perhaps a little 
too excessive decoration, causing the architecture of this period 
to acquire a special character. How splendidly the terra cotta 
industry flourished is proved by the fact that even in the 
houses of the country people there was not only an endeavor 
for a certain elegance of composition but an extensive use of 
this material.’ 


1. L. B. AtBerti: De re aedificatoria, lib. 2. 2. MaLacuzzi-VALERt: L’architletura a 
Bologna nel Rinascimento. 


178 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE io 


After the rapid progress and perfection of brick wall construc- 
tion in Roman antiquity and the most varied possible structural 
and decorative uses made of brick, from the days of Augustus to 
the end of the Medieval period, there was indeed from now on 
little to do other than what could be found in examples of the 
preceding epoch. In the marvelous awakening of Italian art to 
new forms, in the xv century, revealing itself in a revived and 
enthusiastic interest in the ancient world, in fervent aspirations 
for greatness, in freshness of ideas, in elegance of form, and in 
nobility of mind, it is strange how there was neglected ‘every 
attempt at perfecting the practical side of construction. 

While decorative forms reached the utmost splendor, there 
is noted, if not a real decadence, certainly a regression in the art 
of building. The almost complete loss of the old Roman traditions 
of construction, which had developed 
the most gifted builders of the world, 
the excessive reliance placed upon the 
resistance of the materials and, still 
more, upon the bonding strength of the 
mortar, as well as the fever of construc- 
tion, were all concomitant causes which 
accentuated the neglect shown in con- 
structing the framework of the edifice. 

The builders. of the Renaissance, 
in the main, followed what Milani calls 
the “Latin tradition,” or the organic 
system of gathered thrusts on com- 
pound buttressed columns as develop- 
ed in the preceding period. Granting 
this established constructive usage 
and the imperative demand of the time 
for the old Roman external decoration = ros 
° ° ° NSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSI 
in cut stone, it was alogicalconsequence : 
that building assumed a function es- 
sentially static and lost that organic 
unity of expression, or perfect correspondence between outer 
form and inner structure, which is proper to every architect- 
ural work. There was thus established a method of treating 
the decorative covering as independent of the bearing frame- 


















Ree et Crna ne > 


Fig. 61. Brick Moulds. 


180 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


work which added to a rigid concept of constructive practice, caus- 
ed no little neglect of solidity and bearing strength in the building. 
Thus much premised, we shall be able to see what employment 
brick had in the various parts of construction during this period. 

The masonry of piers in general was thinned down and no 
longer presented tenacity and cohesion, or those qualities of 
especial solidity which were the chief merits of the old Roman 
construction. In every region, rather in every locality, those par- 
ticular forms of construction were adopted which best corre- 
sponded to the economic use of the materials and methods of work 
for that particular place. Thus, besides walls exclusively of brick, 
we often see masonry combined of stone and brick as in the 
preceding period, and we have examples, especially at Rome, 
of the so-called tegolozza or walls built entirely or in part of 
burnt clay materials from the ruins of ancient monuments. 
Sometimes we find walls of great thickness with facings of brick, 
connected by transverse partitions in a way to form so many 
caissons which were meant to be filled with gravel and lime, 
but sometimes left empty either by the fraud of the builders 
or by the negligence of those directing the work, as for example 
in the Castello Sforzesco at Milan.' 


ARCHES, VAULTS, AND CUPOLAS 


If, in the period of the Renaissance, we encounter a return 
to the Greek and Roman decorative forms, we find in the 
wall structure, as has been said, the continuance of the Latin 
tradition. There was abandoned, in the main, the characteristic 
groining of the Gothic period, although there did not disappear 
the practice of providing with ribs some types of these vaults 
in which brick largely entered. The arches are for the most 
part of brick, and sometimes we see very striking examples of 
them, as in the four great arches 
supporting the cupola of Saint 
Peter’s at Rome. 7 

In vaults, almost always of 
brick, there still remained, how- 
Fig. 62. Pavilion Vault. | ever, some groining. Besides, the 


1. Luca Bettramt: II Castello di Milano sotto il dominio dei Visconti e degli Sforza, 
1369-1535. Matacuzzi-VALERI: op. cit. p. 68-69. 












































RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 181 


special form of vaulting known as pavilion, which covered square, 
rectangular, or polygonal compartments, came into vogue (Fig. 
62); and the brick vault in foglio, where the brick were set flat, 
as Shown in Fig. 14, page 18, was also much used. Often this type 
of vault had a purely decorative function and was separate from 
the roof or the ceiling above. In these cases, the reinforcement 
of the cement is not used in the entire vault, but is limited to the 
groins. We have very important examples of this, and that 
too with arches of wide span, in such structures as the Sistine 
Chapel of the Vatican, the Farnese Palace, and the loggias of 
Santa Maria Maggiore at Rome. 

In the construction of cupolas, the old Roman idea of the 
single solid dome was abandoned not only because it gave 
rise to various disadvantages, due especially to humidity, but 
because it required very heavy masonry both in the cupola 
itself and in the piers. However, we have some modest exam- 
ples of it, as the cupola of the Rotunda at Vicenza, a famous 
building of Palladio (1550-53) but not completed until 1606 by 
Vicenzo Scamozzi. In general, the cupola was always in a 
double form, that is, had some sort of covering or shell above it, 
and occurred in two distinct types, the roofed and the doubled 
cupola, that is, either the dome was within the walls, covered 
by a roof, as already adopted in the Middle Ages, or the dome 
was simply doubled. 

From Rome the idea of groining was again taken up and 
carried to perfection. This gradually developed into true ribs 
which assumed the chief static function of support, forming a 
bearing skeleton, and thus leaving to the sections of the cupola, 
which rested upon the ribs, almost solely the function of a cov- 
ering. In cupolas, brick was almost always the sole material adopt- 
ed, except sometimes when stone was used in the ribs, in the rings 
of the lantern, or in the parts subjected to heavy thrusts. 

In particular, the characteristic brick construction of the 
two great cupolas, those of the Duomo at Florence, and of Saint 
Peter’s at Rome, merit citation.? In the first, Brunelleschi, 
with the chief aim of avoiding as far as possible the employment 
of a centering or an immense template, adopted for the con- 





1. Strack: Central und Kuppelkirchen der Renaissance in Italien. 
Srrack: Der Kirckenschmuck. 2. Miuanr: Ossature murali Vol. 3, p. 42 ff. 


182 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


struction of his marvelous cupola a most ingenious system in 
setting the brick. He had them set vertically, following naturally 
the curvature of the cupola as construction proceeded, and at 
the same time horizontally, thus 
forming a herringbone effect, 
no supports being necessary as 
the adhesion of the mortar was 
sufficient to hold each brick as 
it was successively set in place 
(Fig. 63). A similar procedure 
with some variation was adopt- 
ed in the construction of the 
cupola of Saint Peter’s(Fig. 64). 
Most beautiful examples of 
static construction are to be 
found in the cupolas of the 
' Baroque period, and in the fol- 
lowing xvi century. Giovan Battista Guarini especially ex- 
celled in this daring construction. His constructive virtuosity, as 
seen in the cupola of San Lorenzo at Turin (1686), with its 
intersecting groins on a planimetric star-like pattern, makes one 
think almost of a miracle in static equilibrium. 









Wis 
i 
al 


Fia. 63. Brick Vaulting, Duomo, Florence. 


Brick IN DECORATION 
During this period, the ae 
use of brick in the decora- , 
tion of buildings lost in 
part its importance, inas- 
much as the seeking for and 
adoption of new forms, to- 
gether with the very consid- 
erable development of deco- 
rative sculpture, necessar- | ; 
ily required the employment NY | A 
of stone and marble. How- NV 
employed in the facing of pea | 
external walls, the work be- | 


ever, brick was still widely 
ing VCLY carefully done with Fic. 64. Brick Vaulting, St. Peter’s, Rome. 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 183 


PLATE 202. Door of Baglioni Palace, Citta della Pieve. 





tl HH" : 
i 


trea 


{{ ‘Wat Lf 


1ceno. 


e 


PuatTe 201. Court of House at Ascoli 





184 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





seme : Sees 


PxLatE 203. Court of the Ducal Palace, Urbino. 


thin brick and very thin mortar joints. Often this facing was 
put on after the internal nucleus of the building was already 
up, and done in such a way as to procure a good bond between 
the two. Examples of very beautiful facings of this kind are 
found from the xv to the xvi centuries. _ 

Sometimes brick was used for pilasters, columns, and in 
general for all those architectural elements which, by reason of 
the simplicity of their form, lent themselves to an easy and 
natural employment of this material. On the other hand, for 
cornices, capitals, door and window architraves, and for all other 
decorative parts, almost without exception, cut stone was em- 
ployed from the xv century on. 

However, in Lombardy and the Emilia, as well as in other 
regions, the widespread employment of brick in its most varied 
applications continued. We often see, especially in houses of 
the more modest type, admirable and ingenious examples of 
decorative brickwork, of which we may cite in passing a little 
court of a house at Ascoli Piceno (Plate 201); the small Baglioni 
palace at Citta della Pieve (Plate 202), the little Umbrian town 
in which Perugino was born; and the house of Ariosto at Ferrara 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 185 


(Plate 212). For essentially decorative work, in case cut stone 
was lacking, terra cotta was used of which we see a great variety 
of examples offering strikingly beautiful effects. 

Besides decorative terra cotta, there was also a great de- 
velopment in polychrome decoration, obtained by means of an 
intelligent and happy combination of cut stone and brick, as 
seen in the eastern part of Santa Maria delle Grazie at Milan, con- 
structed by Bramante, the Cerlosa of Pavia, etc., or by means 
of plaster and graffito, limited however to small, wisely selected 
sections. Brick was also largely used in pavements, of which 
characteristic examples survive, such as found in the Castel 
Sant’ Angelo, in the Church of the Filippini at Rome, or in San 
Sepolcro at Bologna. 


RENAISSANCE, PERtop [| 


Pointed architecture having been abandoned, there began 
about the year 1400, after a period of transition, the application 
on a wide scale of classical forms. These were not reproduced 
coldly or with pedantic imitation but in a new, broad spirit of 
freedom and artistic élan. The movement which was initiated 
by Brunelleschi, with a harshness that impelled him to con- 
quer all difficulties at a blow, without artifice or meretricious 
adornments and almost as if in scorn of decoration, was at 
once followed in every part of Italy by a great number of most 
capable artists, taking on in every locality its own proper 
characteristics. Indeed, this was one of the principal features 
of this first period. Every one followed it according to his 
individual ideas, always with the greatest refinement and 
with a_ profound artistic feeling, adding that clever and 
original form of decoration which, taking its cue from clas- 
sical elements, was essentially inspired by the flora and 
fauna of the region, and which formed another characteris- 
tic of this period. 

At Florence and in Tuscany generally, where the movement 
was initiated; we do not have particularly important buildings 
in brick. There stone bore sway and only terra cotta decoration 
found splendid application. At Siena, we have some brick con- 
struction of this period in which there was a mixture of tradi- 


186 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


tional Gothic motives with others taken from classical art, as 
seen in various palaces of the time. 

The new art was propagated from Tuscany throughout con- 
tiguous provinces. In Umbria and in the Marches, we find 
brick construction widespread, especially in buildings of minor 
architectural value, in which door and window frames, com- 
posed entirely of carved brick, are characteristic. Many are 
the monuments that one might cite. One of exceptional value 
is the Ducal Palace at Urbino of which we see an angle of the 
fine court in Plate 203, a sumptuous residence completed about 
1467, in which, however, the principal decorative parts are in cut 
stone. In the Marches, the Communal Palace at Jesi (1481) with 
its rustic brick facing,! is a striking example. In the Emilia, 
burnt clay products found, as has been said, a very wide vogue 
and innumerable applications. In this region, architecture ran 
more to richness of decoration than to purity of line. In the 
Bovi-Silvestri palace at Bologna we find one of the first ex- 
amples in which motives of the Renaissance are seen mixed 
with Gothic elements such as windows with pointed arches 
in a transition style that has produced not a few monuments. 

Where, however, the Renaissance triumphed was in the 
Church of Santa Caterina, also at Bologna, constructed in 1478 
by Niccolo Marchionne da. Firenze and Francesco di Dozza. 
The splendid facade, framed in with four great pilasters sup- 
porting the rich entablature, terminates in arches forming a 
line at the crown, something very rare in the Emilia (Plate 204). 
In 1480 the goldsmith Sperandio of Mantua lavished on the 
door, the round windows, now closed, and on the lateral squares 
a rich and inexhaustible decoration in terra cotta. Also the 
Church of Spirito Santo, recently restored, owes its importance 
more to its elaborate terra cotta embellishments than to its 
architectural lines. These edifices show us how greatly the archi- 
tecture of this region differs from the elegant and sober style of 
the neighboring Tuscany. — 

Among domestic edifices, we find at Bologna, as in the Palazzo 
Fava and the Casa Gioanetti (Plates 205, 206), constructed 
toward the end of the xv century, very conspicuous characters 
of Bolognese architecture. The porticos with their round arches 





1. ANTONIO GIANANDREA: I1 palazzo del Comune di Jesi. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 187 





Pate 204. Facade of Santa Caterina, Bologna. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


188 


"euso[Og ‘IWJoUeOLD ese) “90S ALVIG 


‘eusopog ‘aoeyeg ‘Ipodjuepy A[IoULIOj ‘BABY *GOZ ALVIg 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 


“eusO[Og ‘ooelier) lop eser “80% ALVIg 





“eusojog 


‘soured nseey, oq], 


L0G LVI 


&, 


e 
ps 
aA 
EA 
zZ 
4 
a 
zZ 

2 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


190 





TT. 


San Pietro, Modena. 


PLATE 209 





*BIBII0 +] “ORV Iqe sor) Vy} JO JNO) “LLS ALV Td “BUDpPO [A] “BAONN] Bsolq’) “OL? ALV Td 


_— 
nN 
La 


serncespaess tanner nensoeee 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQU 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


192 


"ele119 J ‘O10JO SII) Ue Jo Koqqy 


*€1G SLVTd 





"BIeL19,J ‘OJSOLLY 10g 94} JO WNOF]T “Z[Z ALVIg 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 193 


Stents 


ee, 
ae 


PuaTE 214. An Angle of the Castello Estense, Showing Moat, Ferrara 








BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


$e ROE 





FS Banceitoomrenenen 
2 SAORI RETR rersecett x 


PLaTE 216. San Bernardino dei Zoccolanti, Urbino. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 195 


resting upon columns, having very elegant diversified capitals, 
constitute one of the characteristics of the place, due to the 
necessity of protection from winter snows and summer heat. 
Here also beautiful decoration in terra cotta triumphs. A fre- 
quent motive found in the Bolognese palaces of this period, as 
a last reminiscence of the Gothic, may be glimpsed in their 
singularly grouped ornamental parapets or battlements, as seen 
in the Palazzo Malaguti (Plate 207). Another palace in which we 
find a very widespread architectural motive is that of the 
so-called Casa dei Carracci (Plate 208). The projecting arches, 
which are built in place of the portico and sustain the upper 
floor, offer a most notable example; its decoration in terra cotta 
and pictorial polychromy are of exceptional importance. 

At Modena, we find the Church of San Pietro (Plate 209), 
built in 1476 by Pietro Barabani, showing an admirable brick 
facade of the early Renaissance, with which it is interesting to 
contrast and compare the Baroque facade of the neighboring 
Chiesa Nuova of the early xvi century, built by Alverna 
(Plate 210). 

Ferrara is very rich in brick architecture and ornamental 
terra cotta. The court of the Palazzo Costabili (Plate 211), 
which is distinguished by reason of its composition and the 
harmonious combination of stone and brick, is by Biagio Rosetti 
(1502). The house of Ludovici Ariosto (Plate 212), although 
very simple, is pleasing in its well balanced composition. The 
handsome Carthusian Abbey Church of San Cristoforo belongs to 
the first half of the xvi century and is now a part of the Campo 
Santo (Plate 213). The Castello Estense, seat of the famous 
Este family, was originally built by Bartolino Ploti for Niccolo I, 
in 1385, and restored after the earthquake in 1570, during the 
times of Alphonse II, by Alberto Schiatti (Plate 214). At 
Carpi, La Sagra, the old cathedral, altered at the beginning of 
the xvi century, has a very interesting fagade by Baldessaro 
Peruzzi. The ancient Romanesque portal has been retained 
(Plate 215). In the Marches a fine composition in brick is the 
monastery church of San Bernardino dei Zoccolanti near Urbino 
(Plate 216), interesting because of its connection with the name 
of Bramante who is said to have worked as pupil and assistant 
with the architect Luciano da Laurana. 


196 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLaTE 217. Entrance, Castello Sforzesco, Milan. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 197 





PLATE 218. Castello Sforzesco, Torre Umberto Primo, from Piazza d’Armi, Milan. 


198 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 220. Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Northwest Angle. 


199 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 





PLATE 221. The Ospedale Maggiore, Milan. 


ss 





ilan. 


M 


ie, 


ia delle Graz 


. Santa Mar 


PLATE 222 


200 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 223. Apse of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 201 





PLATE 224. Panels in Apse of Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. 


In Lombardy, throughout almost the entire Valley of the 
Po, there is a widespread use of brick. The want of cut stone and 
the abundance of the best clays, for the manufacture of either 
constructive or decorative products, led the builders to employ 
brick and terra cotta extensively. In order to relieve the mo- 
notony of the plain brick wall surface, polychromy was introduced 
by the use of modest bands of plaster along the lower edge of 
cornices in a way to accentuate their distinction from the walls. 
The plaster was then gradually widened and to it was added 
eraffito and polychrome embellishment to moderate the sharp 
contrast between the red brick and the white plaster. Finally, 
the plaster extended over the entire wall leaving exposed only 
the terra cotta. That was also done to conceal the hasty and 
negligent work which was not slow to show itself in building 
operations.' 

Commencing with Milan, we cite among various examples of 
brick architecture the Castello Sforzesco (Plates 217-220) originally 
built as a Rocca Viscontea for Galeazzo Visconti IT, the latter half 


1. C. Fumacauur: Di Sant’ Ambrogio. L. Bettrami: Reminiscenze di storia e d’arte 
nel suburbie e nella citta di Milano, 1899. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


a 


0) 


2 


"BIAB JO BSO}J97) BY} JO MIA IBaY “CZZ ALWIg 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 203 


CBRE OPe: 


: err, 
ny oe 





PuaTE 226. Detail of Church and Little Cloister of the Certosa of Pavia. 


204 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


FI STE 





Puate 227. Terra Cotta Decorations in the Great Cloister of the Certosa of Pavia. 


of the x1v century. Destroyed during the Ambrosian Republic 
(1447-1450), which marked the extinction of the Visconti family, 
the Castello, which was ordered rebuilt by the famous Condot- 
tiere, Francesco Sforza, who had made himself Duke of Milan, 
was begun by one, Giovanni da Milano, about 1450, who was 
strongly influenced by Antonio Averulino, known as il Filarete. 
Under the Austrian occupation, it was converted into barracks 
and the building had suffered much from the usage of time. 
But from 1893-1911 1t underwent extensive restorations, in the 
Xv century style, from the plans of Luca Beltrami so that, as it 
stands today, it is a solemn and impressive work, one of the 
most interesting and imposing monuments of Milan.’ 

The Ospedale Maggiore (Plate 221), which was begun by 
Filarete before a. D. 1457, modified at first by Guiniforte Solari 
and subsequently by others is, except for the basement and 
columns, entirely of brick and terra cotta. Filarete who perhaps 
was not able, or perhaps did not know how, to overcome the 
very firmly rooted Gothic tradition, adhered to a transitional 
style. However, even in the Gothic elements and especially in 


1. L. Bettramri: II Castello di Milano. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 205 


the windows of the lower story he lavished so much ability in 
marvelously modeled decorations as to make of it something 
veritably notable. 

Another original example of the transitional style at Milan 
is Santa Maria delle Grazie (Plate 222) where, along with the 
traditional forms of Medieval art, are seen those of the Renais- 
sance. In 1465 it was enlarged in the apsidal parts, a work at- 
tributed not without plausible reasons to Bramante (Plate 223).+ 
It is almost completely of brick and has in addition rich decora- 
tions in terra cotta such as medallions, architraves of windows, 
etc. (Plate 224). 

In Lombardy, outside of Milan, we also find scatterd monu- 
ments of very great importance in which the persistent charac- 
ters are the fusion of Gothic forms with secondary elements 
of the new style, such as cornices, bands, decorations, dentils, 
ovoli, leaves, etc., an exuberance of embellishments, especially 
in terra cotta, the framing of brick windows in white plaster, and 
the use of graffito decorations. 

Among many others, we cite one of the best known, the 
Certosa of Pavia (Plate 225). Begun in 1396 by Gian Galeazzo 
Visconti, son and successor of the founder of the Castello, the 
work on it lasted many years and was done by a multitude of 
distinguished artists. Its sides and rear are entirely. of brick, 
with the facing so carefully laid in extremely thin mortar joints 
that from a certain distance one seems to be in the presence of a 
red monolith, vivified by marble colonnettes and occasional 
spots of white plaster. The cloisters have their cornices and 
arcade spandrels beautifully decorated with natural terra cotta 
(Plates 226-227). The sumptuous marble facade, not seen in the 
illustrations, is a product of the high Renaissance. The monastery 
was ‘suppressed by the Austrians in 1782 but restored to the 
Carthusians from 1843 to 1881. It is now a national monument. 

In Piedmont also, brick architecture was very widespread. 
We find more outstanding the persistence of old Gothic ele- 
ments that here blended more: slowly with the new forms of the 
Renaissance, especially in the small centers. Limited space per- 
mits us to cite only the priory of Sant’ Orso in Aosta (Plate 228). 


1. L. Bettramt: Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milano (Archivio storico 
dell’arte, VI, p. 229.) 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


206 





Pate 228. Priory of Sant’ Orso, Aosta. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 207 





PLATE 230. Court in House of Saint Catherine, Siena. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


208 


"BuaIC 


‘TYOIN J, lop OZZe]eq 9Y} JO IOMOT, *ZET ALVIg 





“eudIg ‘1yoIN J, lap Ozzeyeg jo joadeyy 


“TES LVI 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 


"BOAT ‘1IIOT, 0119eNYK) VIP 


op[eIseD “ESS TLVIG 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


210 





e 


iedmont 


Ozegna, P 


PuatTe 234. The Castello, 


a 
. 





liveto Maggiore, near Siena, 


PLATE 235. Tower and Entrance of Monte O 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 211 


PLATE 237. Campanile of Santo Spirito, Rome. 





PLATE 236. Tower of the Castello, Torrechiara, near Parma. 





212 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Poses 


$ 





» Rome. 


piri 


PLATE 238. Portico of the Hospital of Santo S 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 213 


Here, to the windows, that timidly show themselves alongside of 
medieval motives, is joined an exuberant and splendid decora- 
tion in terra cotta (Plate 229). 

At Siena in Tuscany, the charming little court in the House 
of Saint Catherine (Plate 230), attributed to Peruzzi, shows 
the restrained feeling of the earlier Renaissance period. The 
same influence is felt in the Palazzo det Turchi, known popularly 
as the Palazzo dei Diavoli, of which are shown the chapel and 
tower (Plates 231, 232, Fig. 65). The Chapel by Ant. Federighi 
is regarded by Burckhardt as ‘‘a jewel of the early renaissance.” 

As examples of the castellated type, moving through a period 
of transition, may be cited the Castello delle Quattro Torri 
(Plate 233), founded by the famous Savoyard Count Ama- 
deus VI (Conte Verde), at Ivrea, Piedmont, about the middle 
of the xiv century; of the following century, the Castello at 
Ozegna (Plate 234), also in Piedmont, and the Castello at Tor- 
rechiara (Plate 236), near Parma; and, of the same type but 
earlier, the tower of the great Benedictine monastery of Monte 
Oliweto Maggiore, now a national monument, in the Sienese 
territory (Plate 235). 

In Latium and Southern Italy, stone was almost always em- 









ployed which, because of _#70:35- > 
its abundance, was the bani ic nil iia Py nil ee =i ji 
° ° i i a | iy itt 
more economic material. = = “Oy” Zain | = iy Sain 
: TOK OMG: ee a Alls ate 
At Rome, especially, there TTL bh TTT TTT. if ry PLY 
e : sh NWS Tn NON SOGtEE LSS ASSASSIN --2-° 
was made an extensive | <= ae 
use Of materials of every <---042-> 3 
sort, secured unfortun- — ee ; 


ately by the demolition of an- 
cient monuments, a fact really 
extraordinary when it is remem- 
bered with how much devotion 
these monuments were drawn 
and studied by the very same 
artists who were not ashamed 
afterwards to turn them into 
quarries of stone and marble, 
something for which this and 
following periods were sadly Palazzo dei Tur 








= =N ——— aa 
Fic. 65. Detail of eae Entablature, 


Siena. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


214 


"eusO]Og ‘ooR[Teg TUIUsO][Og OUT, “OFZ ILVIg 





“euso[og ‘a0eyeg ‘TUIDIABTeg MOU 


CAG OL “68S ALVIG 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 215 


notorious. However, we may find completely built of brick the 
church and companile of Santo Spirito (Plate 237) and the portico 
of the hospital of like name, sober, elegant, and of excellent 
workmanship (Plate 238). Their construction goes back to the 
pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471-84). 

We close these brief notes on the First Period by recalling 
how the application of brick was not limited solely to the con- 
struction and decoration of edifices but was extended to all 
their parts, even to the most minute particulars. Of much im- 
portance were the pavements in geometrical designs, laid with 
brick of various colors, for the most part red and yellow, and 
roof ridges, which assumed a rather considerable artistic im- 
portance, especially as seen in Venetia and the Emilia. 


RENAISSANCE, PERiop II 


This period is characterized, as is well known, by a constant- 
ly increasing approach of architecture to the ancient models of 
classic art. The artists, attracted by the singular fascination of 
the Roman monuments, devoted themselves with loving care to 
their study and to the reproduction of their forms. 

Such approach, initiated in the xv century and at first con- 
nected with local traditions, was not only widely extended but, 
in all parts of Italy, gradually focused itself in a body of uniform 
principles. Having become a true style, it was afterwards re- 
duced to formulas—which often enough in the beginning artists 
disregarded—until, at a time when there was less inspiration 
and originality, it hardened into various treatises on the sub- 
ject, so that only a few architects of merit were able to with- 
draw from its deadening influence. The economic and social con- 
ditions, the elevation of the various forms of civic life, and in 
fact all the conditions peculiar to this period! permitted 
and encouraged the employment of the most opulent resources 
in building. A sort of grandiosity is substituted for the refine- 
ment and harmony of the preceding period; and in the end 
the forms of the new style caused chiefly the use of stone and 
marble in the embellishment of buildings, also enriched. by 


1. BurcxHarpT: Die Renaissance in Italien. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


216 


*JUOUIPeIg ‘WolpeouoJT JO VISE) “ZPF ALVIG 


Ye 


fA 
AG 
t 
5 


*BUOUIIIT) ‘OJIOSTY OFSTIT) JO O110281Q *[PZ ALVIg 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE Hl be 





PuatTE 243. Church of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso, Rovigo. 





PLATE 244. The Ponte Romano, Cesena. 


218 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


NESSIE RAR RASSASO AS eee RRR eR NS 





ES te ee 


-PxiatE 245. School of Santa Maria della Carita, now Institute of Fine Arts, Venice. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 219 





PiaTE 246. Santa Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi. 


220 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 247. Santa Maria delle Vergini, Macerata. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 221 


the use of stucco which was to take on so great a development 
in the subsequent Baroque manner. 

In consequence of all this, brick as a decorative material, 
was reduced to a very low estate and lost its importance. The 
real organic expressions of brick architecture became constantly 
rarer, to the point of disappearing altogether, and finally when 
it was employed at all, it was almost exclusively used to imitate 
forms characteristic of stone. However, a logical use of it was 
made in wall facings, pilasters, and piers, which are found al- 
most everywhere. It was also largely employed in minor eleva- 
tions of buildings and in general in all those parts of less impor- 
tance, such as belvederes, gables, small campaniles, and the like. 

In numerous and excellent monuments of this period, brick, 
as already said, lost its predominance. Even at Bologna, a 
very important center of brick architecture, stone entered to a 
large degree into construction. The Fibbia Palace, now Pal- 
lavicini (Plate 239), which still felt the influence of the xv 
century, presented forms suitable for marble but were executed 
in brick, especially in the cornices of the crown. More character- 

istic is the Bolognini Palace (Plate 240) which, 
although conserving the Bolognese type, 1s 
distinguished in its forms 


1) Dice anim from the preceding period. 


I 


a tt te 


ue 





ee ears 
i UU 


Un 
—— i ieee ent | \4 | Begun 


alam | lan ni 


——— 
— 









————s ry . 
=H Si = ica J 1 in 1526 
. a : —— ——— and con- 


tinued 


Wm 


OTT 


niin 
LilsPiamm iy oi 


AEAUAMESLSTLRIRIATAI 


yl! 








eA al 

i 
et 
sa 
a) 


t 





| 
| 





























= mo ml meee. ——— ==s 
= — rip a moot ee ie ; 
SS —— ee ' MN) 
eee Cree ee es Z lun M} pe 
‘ <= \\ = b 
y <a \\ ‘ \ —_ 2! | hh f 
\ \ a per sf V2 : i= 
ame TT i 2 | | 4 
te = Zz Be Lo. cdr = (Ce. 
= allll=e =a me 
HEAi=e vat Sek 
SPN ee ace —= 8 
! = | =6 ae a — aati a = —= 
| a= ase 
| a = a 
1 


Fic. 66. Detail of the Villa Imperiale, near Pesaro. 


Zan BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


in 1602, it shows splendid decorations in terra cotta by A. Lom- 
bardi. Later in the xvi century, when brick was employed only 
for the facing of external walls, it is seen how brick had lost itsdom- 
inance in Bologna itself. 

In Upper Italy, we note the octagonal Chapel of Cristo Risorto, 
adjoining San Luca at Cremona, which was constructed about A. D. 
1503 and attributed to Bramante (Plate 241), a veritable jewel of 
brick architecture where the brick exactly follow forms of stone, 
even in the attractive little columns of the two-light windows. At 
Rovigo is also found a noteworthy octagonal structure in the 
Church of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso, or the Rotonda, (Plate 
243) by Francesco Zamberlan, a pupil of Palladio, built about 
1594, The beautiful campanile in the rear was designed by Bal- 
dassarre Longhena a half century later. At Venice, of especial 
interest is the School of Santa Maria della Carita, by Palladio 
(Plate 245), an assembly place for a corporation of the arts 
and crafts and at the same time a school of art and a religious 
association house. Of similar 
schools, of which Venice had sed cor oT nny Dawid 
asmany as twenty-five (some (fie ae 
of them of the greatest re- & , y 
nown, due to the genius of 
the Lombardi and of San- 
sovino), this one by Palladio 
is for us the most interest- 
ing, in view of the large |B: 
employment of brick. How- | 
ever, even here, it is well to 
note that the imposing forms 
of the classic orders, which 
lend themselves ill to the use 
of brick, are in some parts 
executed in stone. Finally, 
there are not wanting works 
of public utility, very im- 
portant among which is the 
Ponte Romano over the Savio 
at Cesena (Plate 244), con- 
structed by Pietro Borbini Fe. 67. Detail of Giordino Palace, Pesaro. 


nu 





RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 223 


of Milan, under the pontificate of Clement XIII (1758-69) 
and which, although of simple form and free from all deco- 
ration, indeed useless in a work of such kind, may be said 
to be a genuine expression of architecture in brick, employed 
with fine judgment and wise discernment. In Piedmont, 
as an example of the late Renaissance, may be cited the 
Castle of Moncaliert near Turin, now a royal residence, orig- 
inally built in the xv century but reconstructed in the xvi 
(Plate 242). 

In Central and Southern Italy, we find brick employed on 
the same principles we have already examined. That is, under 
the decorative point of view, it became a material of secondary 
importance. As usual, a very wide use of it was made in the 
facing of walls which are scattered everywhere and very ex- 
cellently done as, for example, the brick facing of the Farnese 
Palace at Rome which is executed with such care as to be mis- 
taken for stone. The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli at 
Assisi (Plate 246) has a part of the facade, the sides, the apse, 
and the campanile done almost entirely in brick. Here also 
brick is used on constructive principles, and stops with the 
cornices. However, especially in the lower zone, the architrave, 
the frieze, and even the triglyphs of the Tuscan order are in 
brick. In the Marches, the tradition of brick building continued. 
From among numerous examples we cite, because of its size 
and constructive importance, the Church of Santa Maria delle 
Vergint at Macerata, with a Bramantesque flavor, which is 
especially notable for its daring cupola, decorated with an Ionic 
order completely of brick (Plate 247). 

Near Pesaro the Villa Imperiale is worthy of note (Fig. 66). 
The upper court shown here gives some idea of a splendid brick 
structure of the period. It was built by Girolamo Genga, archi- 
tect of the ducal family, at the order of Eleonora Gonzaga for 
her husband, Francesco Maria I, Duke of Urbino, during the 
first half of the xvi century. Another example at Pesaro is seen 
in the fine arcaded wall at the rear of the Palazzo Giordino 
(Fig. 67). 

At Rome, we mention in passing the Church and the Cam- 
panile of Santa Maria dell’ Anima, where the use of brick has no 
great importance, but we wish to note especially the Church of 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


“aUIOY ‘0}010T Ip vliey] eJUeG Jo ofluvduIeD “6PZ ALVIG 





‘oWIOY ‘UUIN[OT) Ss uefel], pue OJIOT Ip Ble BIULS “PZ ALVIG 





225 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 











Rome 


The Collegio Romano, 


. 


Plate 250 


226 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Ai 


. % 
a 


\ 
‘, 
iY 


ANY WAAR 
STAI 
Ne 


Ne 


) 





Puate 251. Campanili of Sant’ Atanasio dei Greci, Rome. 


227 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 





In. 


, Turi 


Palace 


PuatTeE 252. Carignano 





PuLaTE 253. Academy of Science, Turin. 


228 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Santa Maria di Loreto, begun by Giuliano da Sangallo in 1507 
(Plate 248). The small lateral campanile has special interest for 
us not only because of its very pleasing composition, but for the 
brickwork in the great brackets, the cornices, and even the 
architraves of the windows (Plate 249). The portal and lantern 
on the dome were added by Giovanni del Duca in 1580. Finally, 
a work which is essentially brick and very much larger and more 
interesting than the others named, is the Palace of the Collegio 
Romano (Plate 250), constructed about 1582 by Bartholomeo 
Ammannati at the charge of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-85). Orig- 
inal and imposing, although a little cold, it presents no special 
details of interest in its brickwork, but it is nevertheless for us 
one of the major brick edifices of this period. Among minor parts 
of buildings in which brick was more largely adopted we cite, 
as a typical example, the two small campaniles of the Church 
of Sant’? Atanasio dei Greci (Plate 251), designed by Martino 
Longhi il Vecchio, at the close of the xvi century. 


THE BAROQUE AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 


These last periods, as is known, were characterized by a 
lowering of classical taste, a breaking up of ancient traditions, 
and a lack of feeling for simplicity, purity, and organic unity. 
Every artist worked according to his individual inclination, and 
followed wherever his unbridled fantasy led him. 

Each busied himself with details and labored to make 
the small appear great. No longer is there seen purity of line 
and exact proportion, but everywhere lace-like traceries, pro- 
jections, curves, ornaments of every kind, to such an extent 
as to make evident how far the spirit of the decorator had 
prevailed over that of the architect. This much premised, 
it may easily be understood how difficult, if not impossible, 
it was to execute in brick all the whimsicalities which the 
mind of the artist could conceive, bizarraries which some- 
times became a veritable confused heap of fantastic exaggera- 
tions in which the lines of the structure were lost and the 
eye found no repose. 

Besides, the technique of stucco, which was extraordinarily 
advanced, not only supplied the demand of the new architec- 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 229 


ture and adapted itself to it in a perfect manner, but took almost 
completely the place of brick in decoration. 

In examples of brick architecture, we see that, as a matter of 
fact, decoration taken as an organic expression of constructive 
forms has disappeared. Brick was compelled by numberless 
strokes of the hammer to follow the curves and the traceries of 
stucco. We find a typical example of this kind of work greatly 
accentuated in the facade of the Palazzo Carignano at Turin 
(Plate 252), built about 1680 by G. B. Guarini. Victor Emmanuel 
II was born here, and for a time (1861-64) it was occupied by 
the Italian Parliament. It is now the Museum of Natural His- 
tory. The contorted architraves of the windows, the ornaments, 
the gable, and all the decorations in general are indeed of brick, 
but they do not have its character and clearly reveal to what 
point the unregulated fantasy of the architect and the skill of 
the artisan may go. Less accentuated in detail, the beautiful 
Palazzo dell’ Accademia delle Scienze, by the same architect, is 
worthy of note (Plate 253). 

But these are not the sole examples. We find numerous others 
at Turin, Mondovi, Asti, 
Alessandria, where the 
brick is worked in a manner 
to simulate stucco, even 
invading the interior of 
the edifice, as for example 
the vestibules of the Royal 
Palace of Alessandria. Oth- 
er monuments which pre- 
sent the same characters, 
less accentuated perhaps, 
are among many others 
the cupola of the Church 
of San Giovanni at Turin 
by Juvara (Plate 254), and 
the Cathedral of Carignano 
(Plate 255), a very rich 
and imposing example be- 
cause of the proportion & 
and harmony of its masses. PuaTE 254. Cupola of San Giovanni, Turin. 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





‘oueusirery ‘[eIpeyyey oy], “SSZ ALVIg 


steiner oneaantiineiasnniacicosenuise Gettin. 


Bites rasesibessset ee OR 





231 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 


“euso[og 





‘oormsul0g ueg ‘asdy yy Jedeyy 9pIg °2SZ ALVIg 


"eBusO[Og ‘OOSOg UI 9[aYOITA, UeG JO J94SIO[Z) 


9S¢ ALVTd 





232 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


There may be mentioned also the campanile of the Cathedral 
of Saluzzo and the outside stairway of the Castle of Vinovo 
offering a truly scenic effect. 

At Bologna, we find worthy of note the octagonal cloister of 
San Michele in Bosco, built in 1602 by Pietro Fiorini and Gugliel- 
mo Conti (Plate 256); also the side chapel with apse (Plate 257), 
and later the rear and cupola, of the church of San Domenico 
by Carlo Francesco Dotti (1720). The latter, in its severe lines 
with rectangular panels between the various orders of pilasters 
(Plate 258), constitutes a typical example of xvi century 
architecture, where we find a return to a more quiet and scholas- 
tic charm after the frenzy of the Baroque period. 

The Cathedral at Carpi (Plate 259) was begun by Alberto 
Pio in 1504, after designs of Peruzzi, but finished much later. 
We note especially its daring cupola which rises above the cross- 
ing of the nave, the decorative details of the great windows in 
the drum, and the three-light windows of the side naves. 

More worthy of attention is the Church of Santa Maria del 
Quartiere at Parma (Plate 260), not only for its solution of the 
static problem but. still more for its decorations, completely 
in brick, with characteristic multiple rectangles, the windows 
with broken pediments, the great volutes, and the slender cam- 
panile. Begun in 1604 by G. B. Aleotti d’Argenta, in associa- 
tion with G. B. Magnani, it was completed by Pietro Righini in 
1700. Also at Parma, we find the very beautiful Church of 
Santissima Annunziata by G. B. Fornovo (Plate 261). With an 
elliptical plan, over which rises a cupola by Rinaldi, its appearance 
is much enlivened by the buttresses ornamented with engaged 
brick columns and pilasters, by the chapels with their charming 
blind arcades which entirely surround the church, and by a 
general decorative scheme which maintains an effect at once 
sober and imposing. Still at Parma, we ought to mention the 
Farnese Theater by G. B. Aleotti d’ Argenta (Plate 262) which 
in its severe lines is sufficiently enlivened and ornamented by 
the simple expedient of multiple rectangles and panels. 

At Rome, where the Baroque Period and the following xvu1 
century reached their culmination, with Bernini, Borromini, 
and all the other great artists of this time lavishing the inex- 
haustible treasures of their genius, there are not wanting good 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE ano 





Pate 258. Apse and Cupola of San Domenico, Bologna. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


234 


‘Bulle ‘aJarjien() Jap elieyy eyUeS “99% ALVIG 


"Id.1e") ‘[e1poyqyer) 94} JO JaMOT, pue apicg 


‘6S¢ ALVId 





235 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 


‘eulleg ‘eyeIzunuUY euULIssIyUeS 


19G ALVTd 





236 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 262. Theatre Farnese, Parma. 


examples of brick architecture, although not very frequent. We 
find brick employed according to the general methods previously 
indicated as, among many other examples, in the sides and 
cupola of Sant’ Andrea della Valle! (Plate 263), and in the fagade 
of Santa Maria dell’ Orto (Plate 264), added to the older church 
in the middle of the xvi century. 

However, more important examples are not wanting. From 
the cold and reserved facade of the Church of Sant’ Anastasia 
(Plate 265), rebuilt by order of Urban VIII in 1636 by Luigi 
Arrigucci, the chaste front of the Collegio di Propaganda Fide 
by Bernini (Plate 266), and the Oratory and Clock Tower of 
the Filippini (Plate 267) by Francesco Borromini, we come to 
the facade of the Convent of the Filippini (Plate 269), now 
occupied by various civic tribunals and a library, where we 
pause astounded at the thought of how the fantasy of an archi- 


1. Sercio OrTOLANI; Sant’ Andrea della Valle. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 237 





PLaTE 263. Detail of Sant’ Andrea della Valle, Rome. 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


PLATE 265. Sant’ Anastasia, Rome. 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 


fethees neers ee URS 


. ves aee 


iB 
Lh 


a 


7m 
ame 
dell 





morsalp 
cs ; 


239 


PLATE 266. Collegio di Propoganda Fide, Rome. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


a Poy 


bs 
* 
* 
* 
& 
‘ 
h 





PLATE 268. Oratory of the Seven Sorrows, Rome. 


PLATE 267. Oratory of the Filippini, Rome. 


241 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 





, Rome. 


ippini 


° 


PLATE 269. Convent of the Fil 


242 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





243 


RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 





Ferrara. 


1, 


Irat 


in Casa Zan 


ias and Arch 


PuaTE 271. Della Robb 


244 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


————3] 











= SS 
bls 




















































































































































































































== == 























=) A 
Fic. 68. Brick Pavements of the Baroque Period. 











q 
NX 
nT Del 
q 
pd 
D q } ( 
Ail 


“(| 
a 


>< 























= = aS = 
— y — " —= zy —— 
a 
M, 
q] 

















——<—<————— 

_——<——————— 

=| —= : 
—— 





== 


> 


~All 






































Val 


a= 
———— 
— —— 




































































RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE 245 


tect could reach so far and where undoubtedly, at the same 
time, something singularly harmonious rises before us. It is the 
genius of Borromini, his method of construction, his absolute 
mastery of all the resources of art and technique which forces 
the material to obey his extravagances and infinite caprices. 
We find the strangeness of his style also in the Oratory of the 
Seven Sorrows (Plate 268) and in the campanile of Sant’ Andrea 
delle Fratte (Plate 270) where the brick is compelled to follow 
every sort of line, straight, concave, convex, twisted, and broken, 
resulting in a daring construction which is veritably admirable 
and imposing. 

If terra cotta properly belonged to our theme, here would 
be the place to introduce an account of its marvelous develop- 
ment and application during this period. Facility in technique 
and manufacture resulted in bringing it, at this time, into great 
favor throughout Italy. The most capable artists did not shrink 
from applying themselves to this branch of art and dedicated to 
it their genius. Throughout an entire century the celebrated 
Della Robbia family reigned supreme in this art, leaving behind 
masterpieces never before seen and never since surpassed. Of 
many such possible examples we give in Plate 271 two pieces by 
Luca and Andrea della Robbia, and the detail of a portal in the 
Casa Zanirati at Ferrara. In the Baroque period, terra cotta 
rapidly fell into decline until it disappeared altogether. Stucco, 
the technique of which had made rapid progress, supplanted it 
and invaded every space, lending itself better to the exigencies 
of the new style and the taste of the new age. 

In closing our brief review of the Renaissance, Baroque, 
and XVIII Century periods, we cite a very interesting appli- 
cation of brick to pavements in which it was generally em- 
ployed, attaining a refinement and elegance never seen in 
earlier periods. For this purpose, brick were manufactured 
of every type and form in buff and red tones which, skilfully 
combined and set, produced motives almost always geometrical 
and of surprising effects. Examples are numberless, and very 
beautiful (Fig. 68). We present only a few to give an idea of 
their form and variety. 


_Pror. Inc. CARLO ROCCATELLI 


BRICK IN MODERN ITALY 
MANUFACTURE 


It may be said that wherever good deposits of clay are 
found in Italy, brick are made. ‘These clays differ all 
the way from the purest, white burning clays, fusing at 1500° 
Centigrade [2732° F.], used for refractories and pottery, to 
those burning the most varied colors by reason of ferruginous, 
calcareous, or organic impurities contained in them. The iron 
oxide in clays imparts a yellow or red color in burning, which 
becomes deeper with the extent of the burn, while lime in the 
clays produces the lighter buff and cream shades in the finished 
product. The best clay banks abound in Piedmont, Lombardy, 
Venetia, and the Emilia, the quality of the material being excep- 
tional for purity and plasticity in the valley of the Po. Sand 
is the most widely used material for reducing the clays, if neces- 
sary, to the proper consistency, the sand nearly always being 
found in convenient deposits near the clay pits. In Latium the 
clay and sand are sometimes found in alternate strata. Crushed 
brick is also used for reduction, rarely sawdust and coal screen- 
ings. The clay is never mined but won from the surface after 
stripping, or dug from open pits. The old practice of winter 
tempering is not so extensive as formerly, its place being taken 
in certain plants of Southern Italy by exposing the clay to the 
sun during the summer. 

Some brick factories have tried the dry process method of 
manufacture but found it too expensive. Where machinery is 
used, the soft or stiff mud process is well nigh universal. The 
most widespread method of manufacture, however, is by hand. 
Not over 30 per cent of all the plants use machinery, most of 
the latter working the entire year, some of them producing as 
many as 5,000,000 pieces of brick and tile during that time. 
There are Italian manufacturers of clayworking machinery that 
successfully compete with the best foreign makes. This machin- 
ery 1s used for the most part in the industrial centers of Central 
and Northern Italy. The hand made process is quite general 
throughout the innumerable small plants in Campania, Apulia, 
Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily, where brick factories using 
machinery are rare. 


246 


MODERN TIMES 247 


The six months from April to September, depending some- 
what on the region, are employed in working the clay and 
moulding the brick. In plants working throughout the year, 
double the kiln quota is made during the open season to provide 
for winter burning. In most Italian plants, drying is natural, 
as the climate is favorable for such a method; it is only in special 
cases where artificial drying is resorted to. 

Aside from the very general use of temporary or scove kilns 
in the smaller plants, the continuous Hoffman kiln is the only 
one used, provided with tall chimneys to secure a natural 
draught, except in seismic zones where the Prat chimney is 
adopted. The fuel used is powdered coal to which, for economy, 
lignite is added, and in Central Italy, the residue of olive presses. 

Dimensions of brick in Italy vary with the locality and al- 
most with the manufacturer, as there are no recognized standard 
sizes. But by custom and tradition the sizes of brick, both 
face and common run about 4-6 cm. [1.6-2.4 in.] in thickness, 
22-28 cm. [8.7-11. in.] in length, and 11-13 cm. [4.3-5.2 in.] 
in width.* Various shapes are made such as radial brick for 
columns, especially in the Emilia, but brick are often tooled to 
simple forms on the job. Plants making natural decorative 
terra cotta are rare, perhaps because of the enormous demand 
for the ordinary forms in the exceptional revival of building 
activity the last few years, the decadence in the minor arts, or 
the disinclination of industry to prepare the clay specially re- 


*The Italians have a word laterizio which is applied to all burnt clay products such as 
brick, tile, and terra cotta, which they also refer to simply as cotta. The word mattone is 
“brick” as used by us. These mattoni are made solid or hollow, and are known as comune, 
common, or facia vista, face. This latter expression, heard in Rome, is not universally em- 
ployed but instead some such term as mattone a giorno (to the day) da paramano (as adorn- 
ment), etc. The old Latin word cortina (curtain) is much used to designate wall “facing.” 
The word for tile is fegolo. There is a great variety of names for different sizes and forms of 
this material. 

Of the use of face brick in Italy, Professor Adolfo Carena of the Royal Polytechnic 
School of Turin, author of L’Industria dei Laterizt, and many technical brochures on 
ceramics, says: ‘““There is a marked tendency to extend the use of facing brick (paramano) 
in Italy at the present time (1923), a fact due not only to a recognition of better aesthetic 
and architectural effects, as may be seen now in many distinguished monuments of the 
past, but also to the not inconsiderable economic advantages derived from this form of 
construction which eliminates completely the cost of maintenance and repairs for plastered 
walls. By reason of the great alternating changes of heat and cold in our country, ex- 
terior plastered surfaces are in the average building, very liable to deteriorate and fall in 
fragments within a brief period of time.”’ It is to be noted in the restorations which are 
now being made throughout Italy that, where the underlying brick and brickwork are 
of good quality, the removal of the soiled and damaged plaster or intonaco, so extensively 
used in baroccoizing old buildings, leaves a clean, dignified, and strikingly fine effect in the 
wall surface. [Ed.| 


248 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


quired for terra cotta. On the other hand, almost all clay working 
plants produce hollow brick and tile of every type, flat or arched. 
used for partitions, ceilings, floors, wall coverings, base boards, 
gutter projections, roofing, etc. At Cremona a flat perforated 
tile of high quality is made running from 6-10 cm. [2.4-3.9 in.] 
in thickness and from 50 centimeters or 19.7 inches to 1.7 meters 
or 5 feet, 6.9 inches in length. 

The old clay decorative floor tile have fallen into disuse 
and are made only for restorations of the antique, naturally 
at a high price; but small floor tile of conventional square, 
rectangular, or polygonal form and of natural color are quite 
generally made and used throughout the country. The square 
tile, 12-25 cm. [4.7-9.8 in.] is widely used. 


EXAMPLES OF MODERN ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE 


The modern period may be dated from the middle of the 
Xvil1 century when there was a very strong reaction against 
the Baroque, and when attempts were being made to revive 
the old Greek and Roman forms. There were, however, want- 
ing artists capable of such a restoration, and with the artists 
there was wanting also the milieu. Cold forms were used in 
which the brick bore little part or were used only in the field 
of the walls, as in the Palazzo Braschi (Plate 272) designed by 
Cosimo Morelli, and more recently and happily in the Palazzo 
Margherita, formerly the Palazzo Boncompagni-Piombino and 
now the residence of the Queen Mother, Margherita, by Architect 
G. Kock (Plate 273), both in Rome. 

In consequence, the most diverse ways were tried out; some 
would remain faithful, especially at Rome, to the classical 
traditions, with a limited use of brick on the score of color; 
sometimes they undertook to imitate medieval constructions 
and those of the xv century, in which brick was largely em- 
ployed but in. which the spirit of the builder was not always 
faithful to the purity of feeling dominant in those times. 

Along with these imitations were found independent at- 
tempts, not always happy and rarely inspired. These attempts 
constantly pursued an eclecticism in which it was hardly pos- 
sible to perceive an idea really corresponding to the spiritual 


249 


MODERN TIMES 





Rome. 


Palace, Piazza Navona, 


Braschi 


PLATE 272 





oo) 


@ 
3 
z 
2 


Rome. 


Veneto, 


la 


ita, V 


Palazzo Margher 


PLATE 273 


250 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PuaATE 275. Villino Ferrari, Rome. 


MODERN TIMES 251 


: pereiesee perc ieee estes tego es 





PLATE 276. Villa Salvadori, Porto San Giorgio. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


292 


BS tizomcosenoncncteny up 


SY crs 
a ea Ts 


‘OIZIOLD) UBS 0}IOg ‘IOPeATeS eT]IA Ul S[reJop MOPUT A 


eee 


Be tee mon nce ms eee eon 


“LLG BSLV Id 





MODERN TIMES 293 


and material conditions of our times and in which the idea of 
national independence was not always present. 

Others sought to draw new elements of beauty from the 
free interpretation of past forms. Among these, Arturo Pazzi 
has obtained definite results in the Villino Vitale* at Rome 
(Plate 274), in which brick and travertine are combined with 
excellent effects, while he secures still greater simplicity and 
harmony of material in the Villino Ferrari (Plate 275). But 
where Pazzi has attained the most satisfactory expression in 
brick architecture is in the Villa Salvadori at Porto San Giorgio 
in Abruzzo (Plate 276), where the brick pattern is carefully 
worked out in every detail. In it we see the most varied and 
carefully studied themes, recalling the charm of Bolognese mo- 
tives in which, among the most graceful decorative schemes, are 
ingrafted forms of glazed terra cotta, as we see in the details 
here reproduced (Plate 277). Frequent in all this construction 
is the hammer stroke which also gives a touch of life to this 
minor work in a great variety of bonds and courses, here pro- 
fusely elaborate. Every detail is studied with constant care. 
Of this work two chimneys (Fig. 69) afford lively expres- 

f sion, one of which, in 
an effective distribution 
of solids and voids, light 
and shade, would sim- 
ulate a great masque 
with a large mouth pour- 
ing out smoke. 

Another careful brick 
construction of the same 
architect is the Vullino 
Roberti at Rome (Plate 
278) in which is admir- 
ably solved the prob- 
lem of the enlargement 
of the chimney flues 
| at the corners of the 

Fic. 69. Chimney Tops, Villa Salvadori. building . 












ry 


bjpua— i= 
| Pe 
1 Ne 

fA 





1 4 
y ) i 
/ ae pune mn rll 1h AND 
= wy } 
oe ALI r TA 
ZY | ] |= 
Z 
a 
' h ii a 4 . 
lt 
YY Py rimalaomnrynnreny 7 
Z 
g 
Z 











*The word “‘villino”’ means a small villa as distinguished from the country estate with 
its pretentious mansion. [Ed.] 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 279. Detail of Villa. Lungo Tevere Michelangelo, Rome. 


PLaTE 278. Villino Roberti, Rome. 


MODERN TIMES 259 





Plate 280. Rear of the Villa Arco Scuro, Rome 





Plate 281. Front of the Villa Arco Scuro, Rome 


256 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 282. Villino Salandra, Rome. 


297 


MODERN TIMES 


“oulOY “Tueryseqes ounyiA 


"€8C ALVId 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


258 


“OWIOY ‘OfasuLpEYyOIA, SIVAVT, OFuN'] oY} UO TIA “F9Z TLVIg 


aeonnenna) 5 
Skeskak ee 





MODERN TIMES 259 


We have in other constructions at Rome a greater freedom from 
the forms of the past. Thus the Villa Arco Scuro (Plates 280, 281) 
attains by simple means a noble and vivacious expression, found 
throughout the entire construction. To be especially noted are 
the staggered saw-tooth courses above the windows, the treads 
of the outside steps laid in brick set obliquely, and the coping 
of the stair guards and fountain wall fronting the principal en- 
trance. 

One of the most beautiful constructions, along lines both 
individual and harmonious, is the Villino Salandra by Archi- 
tect Cirili (Platé 282), a little architectural jewel, in which 
natural terra cotta combined with moulded brick is used 
to frame the window openings with an artistic touch. Another 
work, which succeeds in freeing itself from the old_ lines, 
designed as an organic modern expression of notable effect, 
is Villino Sabastiani by Architect Arnaldo Foschini, repro- 
duced in Plate 283. Some reminiscence of fragmentary Roman 
work is found in a house on the Lungo Tevere Michelangelo 
designed by Cav. Umberto Bottazzi, in association with the 
Roman painter Vittorio Grassi, in which a strikingly effective 
result has been secured by the use of very simple means 
(Plates 279, 284). 

Other typical examples of modern brickwork at Rome that 
may be mentioned in passing as worthy of note are the Villino 
Scialoia (Plate 285); the Villino Popert, by Architect, annizzaro 
(Plate 286); two villint in Via Alessandro Farnese,, and in 
Via Pompeo Magno (Plates 287, 288); a Conventual School 
in Via Po by Architect Passarelli (Plate 289); Church and 
Convent of Corpus Domini in Via Sardegna (Plate 290); and 
the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali Venezia in the Piazza 
Venezia (Plate 291). ) 

In other places, we sometimes see the local traditions followed — 
with an excessive fidelity, as at Venice, where the major part of. 
recent architectural composition in brick cannot be distinguished 
from work of the xiv century, as for example the Pescheria, or 
Fish Market, by Architect Laurenti (Plate 292); the little palace 
Stern (Plate 293), designed by Architect Giuseppe Berti in 
1910-11, and many other similar buildings both‘at Venice;and 
in its surroundings. With a pleasing pictorial feeling Marius de 


260 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


PLATE 286. Villino Popert, Rome. 


ath 


cist tg ‘ 
$ Sctee ecb BSE 
a ty ke if? 7 


ra4 
ee 


7 


Sibel: 
Sarokauely, 
ait alts 3 





MODERN TIMES 261 





PLATE 288. Villino in Via Pompeo Magno, Rome. 


262 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 











pete 289. Conventual School in Via Po, Home 





lee Bei : oS ESRC O tts ene case 


PLATE 290. Church and Convent of Corpus Domini, Rome. 


263 


MODERN TIMES 


“oWOY ‘eIZoU9A Ip eZzeIg ‘elzZoUaA T[eJIU9r) 1UOIZeINOISSY 9Y} JO Dee “[6Z ALVIG 





264 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Lara 





PLATE 293. The Stern Palace, Venice. 


MODERN TIMES 265 





‘ PiLatTE 294. Palazzina alla Giudecca, Venice. 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


266 





Casa Zucchini, Bologna. 


a 


PLATE 29 


MODERN TIMES 267 





Ash LL. 
we % a Rt, eG 


PLATE 296. Country House near Modena. 


Maria frees himself from this sort of work, which has almost the 
fidelity of tracings over medieval) forms, in a sprightly little 
palace on the Giudecca in which the field of the wall is done in 
a beautiful facing of yellow and red brick of a purely local char- 
acter (Plate 294). 

Bologna at times scrupulously respects the environment 
by reconstructing xv century houses in brick of an intense 
red color, with beautiful terra cotta decorations, such as 
the Casa Zucchini (Plate 295) and innumerable others. 
Frequently, however, in most recent years, there is a detach- 
ment from the traditional architecture, but not always with 
happy effects. 

Near Modena, we see a beautiful small villa in which the xv 
century architecture is interpreted in a freer manner (Plate 
296). The architect, Pietro Carini, has been able to draw a 
great variety of effects from hints and suggestions found in 
Tuscan motives, by adapting the resources of modern technique 
to decorations in artificial granite dressed by the hammer. The 
pleasing little house with a communal school at Cisano near 
Brescia, seen in Plate 297, shows simple lines and a sprightly 


268 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 297. Communal School, Cisano. 


movement. Of the attractive group of small country houses, 
shown in Plates 298 to 300, the first is at Imola, near Bologna. 
Built of a beautiful pinkish cream brick, it is an example of 
the small suburban residence frequently found in central 
and northern Italy. The three other charming little houses 
are at Ferrara, the last of which shows a decidedly English 
influence. | 

Before concluding these hints on modern domestic brick 
architecture, we recall the expression of a decadent romantic : 
sentiment which loved to loiter amid the verdure of Tuscan 
and Lombard fields, exemplified by a small pavilion and tower 
(Plate 301) in the Royal Villa at Monza, now used as a library 
and museum. 


269 


MODERN TIMES 


“BICIIOY 7e ISNOF, Tews 


"660 SLVIg 


“B[OU] JB BSNOF] [TUG “g6z ALVIgG 





a 





BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


270 


"BB119,J Ye SoSNOP] [[eUls Jo sojduexy wYIQ “OVE ALVIg 





MODERN TIMES 271 





a: ae. 


yal Villa at Monza. 


Puate 301. Library and Museum in Ro 
SACRED ARCHITECTURE 


Sacred architecture is expressed in brick by often turning 
back to medieval forms. After this manner, Architect Tullio 
Passarelli built in Rome the charming little Chiesa del Divino 
Cuore (Church of the Sacred Heart), with an annexed monastery 
(Plates 302, 303), and shortly afterwards, in the year 1900, the 
more ambitious church of Santa Teresa in the Corso d'Italia 
(Plate 304). Here we have the simplest Romanesque motive in a 
facade, worked out almost to the point of bareness but broken 
and enlivened by a pleasing line of pendent arches in the gable 
and an open arcaded gallery above the portal. The brickwork 
which is of a delicate pinkish red is admirably done. Still later 
Passarelli designed the Church of San Camillo in the Via Pie- 
monte (Plates 305, 306), a notable red mass in the midst of mod- 
ern Roman construction, the exterior of which clearly reveals the 
organic structure of the nave and aisles. Upon piers extend- 
ing from side aisles, the buttresses meet the thrust of the vault 
of the central nave. The flying buttresses consist of three small 
arches resting upon columns. The lines of the eaves are followed 


Ake BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PLATE 303. Side and Rear of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Rome. 


273 


MODERN TIMES 


“QUIOY 


‘esolay, eyUeS Jo YoY’) “FOE ALVIG 


ie Rize ae * 
ep Ge ert 
¥ * 


j 
is 
F 
H 
g 
| 
ba 
§ 





el 


BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


274 





PLATE 305. San Camillo, Rome. 





MODERN TIMES | 279 


PxLaTeE 307. Church of the Holy Family, Ancona. 


Piate 306. Side and Tower of San Camillo, Rome. 





276 


PLATE 308. 


BRICKWORK IN 





English Church of All Saints, Rome. 


ITALY 


by brick cornices in saw- 
tooth and small brack- 
ets of cut stone. Archi- 
tect Mario Ceradini was 
inspired by the same 
Romanesque sources in 
designing the Chiesa 
della Santa Famiglia at 
Ancona (Plate 307), in 
the fagade of which 
there is imposed a 
greater decorative task 
upon the brick. Though 
not by an Italian archi- 
tect, the English Church 
of All Saints in the Via 
Babuino, Rome, as a 
pleasing example of the 
Gothic revival, design- 
ed by the eminent Eng- 
lish architect, George 
Edmund Street, is 
worthy of note (Plate 
308). The interior es- 
pecially illustrates the 
admirable way in which 
brick may be used in 
ecclesiastical work 
(Plate 309). 

But the most beauti- 
ful brick design ex- 
ecuted in recent years 
in ecclesiastical archi- 
tecture is the Church of 
the Sacred Heart at Bol- 
ogna (Plate 310), due to 
Edoardo  Collamarini. 


oa 


MODERN TIMES 


BEE ST SECO A SOE SE 





277 


PLATE 399. Interior of All Saints, Rome. 


278 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


Lem 





PLATE 310. Church of the Sacred Heart, Bologna. 


MODERN TIMES 279 


eect 
aa 


PLATE 311. Interior of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Bologna. 





280 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


ee 


gun 


: 
| 
i 





PLATE 312. San Martino Maggiore, Bologna. 


MODERN TIMES 281 





: Puate 314. Side View and Tower of Sant’ Eustorgio, Milan. 





282 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PuaTE 315. San Babila, Milan. 











. 


MODERN TIMES 


PLATE 316. Palazzo Salimbeni, ‘“‘La Rocca’’, Siena. 


Piate 317. Hadrian’s Tomb, after 537 A. D. the Castel Sant’ Angelo, Rome. 


283 








284 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 





PxiaTE 318. Palazzo Medici, now Banca d’Italia, Asti. 





MODERN TIMES 285 


The interior (Plate 311) affords a most impressive religious 
feeling in the quiet reflections of the red brick, which soften 
the liveliness of the light, at times is a little bold. 


RESTORATIONS 


In restorations, a form of art which has attained in these 
last years, above all through the work persistently prosecuted 
by Prof. Gustavo Giovannoni, a perfection up to the present 
unknown, we have work in which brick has often taken a pre- 
dominant part, as in the facade of San Martino Maggiore in 
Bologna (Plate 312). Here we have an evident progress beyond 
the work done by Architect Brocca, in 1863-65, in restoring 
Sant Eustorgio at Milan (Plates 313, 314). Among the more 
recent restorations in which brick have had a large use is the 
reconstruction of the fagade of Santo Stefano at Bologna (Plates 
121, 319) with not too much respect for the most probable 
lines, due to Collamarini. 





PLATE 319. Court of Pilate and San Sepolcro, Bologna. 


286 BRICKWORK IN ITALY 


The new pseudo-Romanesque front of San Babila, a frequently 
restored little Romanesque church of the x11 century, makes a 
bright and interesting spot, amid the busy scenes along the great 
Corso Venezia at Milan (Plate 315). At Siena, the rear of the 
Salimbeni Palace, known as the Rocca, on the Via dei Rossi 
(Plate 316), shows an excellent Gothic restoration done by 
Partini in 1879. The modern brickwork on the ancient and 
famous Castel Sant’ Angelo, Rome, originally the tomb of 
Hadrian, under the direction of Gen. Mariano Borgatti, re- 
presents, as seen in Plate 317, a restoration of the outworks 
added to the famous monument by the Popes inthe xvicentury. 
A very excellent reproduction of late Gothic in beautiful brick- 
work is found in the Palazzo Medici at Asti, used as the Bank of 
Italy (Plate 318). Finally, we place among the notable recon- 
structions, most carefully done by Piacentini, that of the Cam- 
panile at Venice, completed in 1912 (Plate 320). 

In concluding so brief a collection of recent examples in 
brickwork, we do not believe that we are able to reflect always 
the most vital expression of our modern activity which refines 
more and more into a persistent effort to free from all insincerity 
the real path to the attainment of pure and living forms of art. _ 
Among the vast number of possible productions from which to 
choose, we have taken the more striking examples such as readily 
claim attention without pretending that our selections are 
always the most significant. 


Pror. Inc. Enrico VERDOZZI 


PL, 2 eee eee ee 


MODERN TIMES 


PLATE 320. Campanile of St. Mark’s, Venice. 


28 


-_ 





ae 
Uy, 
tla: Ns SMG, Mller 2, Wy, ike 


4 is wre r 
aye Ans, Hann = Yass) ‘mays vies nw vg H U N G A R Y 
ed 


SS ane hays MI Ht —_—- 
ane 


-_— a 


~ 


. 


{Classe 
a Klasse 
Or. 
® \Rimini 
Gulf oy Spexta™ 
Genoa 
% ran Remo 
aay Leghorn imi : B Ag.Jesi : o> q Spalato 
LIGURIAN SEA . top ‘ : a ap 


bes lB, ehtirro BR Porto. 
Piombino/. ust OY : te? Pa) 2 ee ST 
4 oe or ~ Ragusa 


cf ey <= 


a Eb . A 
ee oe = , } j y C \ 
FRAN : ‘ 
: ATB 
ae 8 Viterbo 


to 
Termoli 
e 


/ 

\ 
> 
ee 


OLISE 
aA SN, 


Catnpobass96 i 1S Foggia Y Manfredonia 


Barletta 


Bari 
O 


Gaeta coe > Monopoli 


‘ CaSerte Bees ec! : 
¢g Pozzuolilg lap CS' hye. v' , Brindisi 
O Sassari TscHrAOS Bing © a 


oe ° 
ad g oe 


Portotorfes 


as Ra Re eae GallipoliY 


Taranto 


> 
“en 


Fg ain wy 2 Oe ‘i 
Min ire, 


PANTELLERIA 





MopERN AND MEDIEVAL ITALY 
Tints show Italy in XII century 


INDEX 


‘Abbey Churches: Arch, of Janus Quadrifrons, 22; of Money 
Chiaravalle Milanese, 100, 119 Changers, face 69 
Chiaravalle della Colomba, 107 Arches, bearing, 21; blind, 65; in Casa 
Nonantola, 97 Carrucci, 195; chamfered groins in, 148; 
I omposa, 63-4 Claudian, 12; construction of, 12, 180; 
San Cristéforo, 192-5 curved brick in, 121; decorative, 170; 
Vezzolano, 76-7, 80 double relieving, face 71; Gothic, 141; 

Academy in Rome, American, VIII in Mercanzia, 142; of Minerva Médica, 


56; nave, 148; Neronian, 12; ogival, 166; 


: 9 
Academy of Fine Arts, Bologna, 121 pendent, 80, 85, 93, 107, 166, 271; 


Academy of Science, Turin, 227, 229 pointed, 125, 141, 145; relieving, 13; 
Acanthus, in decoration, 39 round, 68; in San F rancesco, 142; 
Acropolis, Athens, face 41 See lp a 166; squinch, 56; of 
Ad Calchis, Royal Palace, 54 rents ies Lac 
Adriatic, the, x1 Alberti, 178 
Agilulf, Longobard King, 66 Aleotti d’ Argenta, 232 
Aix La Chapelle, face 55 Alverna, 195 
; ; : Ammannati, 228 

Alessandria, 229 Antonio di Vincenzo, face 149 
Alphonse IT, 195 Apollodorus, face 21; 31 
Alps, the, relation to Italy, x1 ae eapeane ulianus, 54-7 
Amadeus VI, Count, 213 Averulino, il Filarete, 204 
Ambrosian Republic, 204 Barabani, 195 
Amphitheatre, Castrensian, 25, 28 oe 204-5 
Ampbhorae, in construction, 18, 50 Berti, 259 
Ancona, 276 Boito, 125 
Annia Regilla, tomb of, face 41; 42 poe 222 saat 
Antonines, the, face 41 Bareeineees 232, 236, 245 
Aosta, 18, Be Bramante, 185, 195, 205, 222 
Apennines, the, x1 Brocca, 285 
Appian Way, face 1; 32, 41 Hpac an a 185 

ae annizzaro, 
Apulia, 40, 246 Carini, 267 
Aquilleja, xm Ceradini, 276 


Arcades, 31, 49, 57, 82, 85 Cirilli, 259 


As Italian is not so familiar to the general American reader as French or German, a 
few suggestions may be useful. 

Italian pronunciation, as in German, is very rational because every letter in the word 
is pronounced, and pronounced uniformly in similar situations. Spelling in both German and 
Italian is as near phonetic as possible. But unlike German, Italian sounds are simple and 
easy to form. There are, however, two real difficulties in Italian pronunciation for the foreign- 
er. First, the distinction of letter sounds in certain situations, as hard and soft s and z, open 
and closed e and o, and shortened vowels in the current of speech. All such distinctions 
can only be learned by ear in associating with cultivated Italians who indeed differ among 
themselves regionally, very much as do educated people, for example, from Massachusetts 
and Virginia. Secondly, the accent or stressed syllable. For the most part, Italian words 
take the stress on the penult or second syllable from the end. This, as well as the gender 
of words, must be learned by experience in hearing educated Italians or in consulting the 
dictionary. The diaeresis is not needed in Italian as conjoined vowels are always separately 
pronounced. The grave accent is the only accent mark used in Italian; it either shows the 
stress on the final syllable or distinguishes two similarly spelled words with different 
meanings. In the Index, the accent of Italian words will be indicated only when it falls 
on the antepenult. - 


290 


Architects cont’d 


Collamarini, face 121; 121, 276, 285 
Continese 

Dotti, 232 

Federighi, 213 

Filarete, il, 204 

Fiorini, 232 

Fornovo, 232 

Foschini, 259 

Francesco di Dozza, 186 
Genga, 223 

Giovanni da Bréscia, face 149 
Giovanni da Milano, 204 
Giovanni del Duca, 228 
Gismondi, 31 

Giuliano da Sangallo, 228 
Guarini, 182, 229 

Juvara, 229 

Kock, 248 

Lanfranco da Méddena, 94, 97 
Laurenti, 259 

Lombardi, face 61; 222 
Longhena, 222 

Longhi, il Vécchio, 228 
Luciano da Laurana, 195 
Macioli, xv 

Magnani, 232 

Marchionne da Firenze, 186 
Marius de Maria, 259 
Moiraghi, 89 

Morelli, 248 

Morigia, face 61 

Nivi, 125 

Palladio, 181, 222 

Partini, 286 

Passarelli, 259, 271 

Pazzi, 253 

Pecorari, 100 

Peruzzi, 195, 213, 232 
Piacentini, 286 

Pio, Alberto, 232 


INDEX 


Architects cont'd. 


Ploti, 195 
Ricci, face 55 
Righini, 232 
Rinaldi, 232 
Rosetti, 195 
Salari, 204 
Sansovino, 222 
Savoldi, 85 
Scamozzi, 181 
Schiatti, 195 
Street, 164, 276 
Vitruvius, 2 
Zamberlan, 222 
Zuradelli, 89 


Arengario, of Monza, 125 
Arezzo, 8, 178 

Arians, Baptistery of, 51 
Ariosto, house of, 184, 195 
Arno, the, x11 

Ascoli Piceno, ducal palace of, 184 
Asinaria, Porta, 46 

Assisi, 223 

Asti, xv, 148, 155, 229, 285 
Atrio di Pilato, 119 

Augustan Age, 2, 18 

Augustus, Octavianus, 2, 8, 179 
Aurelian Walls, 46 

Authari, Longobard King, 66 


B 


_Babuino, Via, 276 


Bacoli, pozzolana of, x11 
Badia, Abbey Church, 80 
Bagnacavallo, Pieve of, 64 
Bank of Italy, Asti, 286 


The following notations may aid the reader in approximating the pronunciation of 


Italian words: 


a, as in father; e, as in fete; i, as in pique; o, as in note; u, as in crude. j is little 
used as it is only another form of i. 


Consonants in Italian have the same value as in English except the following: 


ec, before e and i, =ch as in church 

ch, before e and i, =e as in cab 

g, before e and i, =j as in jibe 

gh, before e and i, =g as in gab 

se, before e and i,=sh 

sch, before e and i, =sk 

gn, between vowels, =ny or as ni in union, with rare exceptions 

gl, between vowels, =ly or as li in million, with rare exceptions 

gu, = goo, as gooardo (guardo), not gardo 

h has no sound, but is used to distinguish like words of different meanings, or to 
harden c and g before e or 1. 

k, w, x, y, disappear except as found in a few adopted foreign words. 


These suggestions belong merely to the mechanics of the language. The art of speak- 
ing it depends upon its proper intonation, or the melody of phrase and sentence, which is 
only acquired by long association with those who are to the manner born. Such refine- 
ments, however, are not needed either to understand or to be understood. 


INDEX 


Baptistery, Orthodox and Arian, 51, 53; 
of Parma, xiv; of St. Stephen’s, 114 


Baroque, use of stucco, 228, 245 

Basilica, of Maxentius or Constantine, 
11-12; face, 15; Ulpian, Front. 

Basilicata, 246 » 

Baths, of Caracalla, 18; of Diocletian, 
22; at Ostia, 31; of Paolo Emilio, 31; 
Stabian, 18 

Bearing walls, 8-9 

Bembo, Bernardo, face 61 

Benedictine Monks, face 73, 213 

Bibliography, xv11-x1x, see ft.notes passim 

Binate columns, Piacenza, 125 

Bipedales. 3-4, 12 


Bologna, x1u-xv, 109, face 117, 121, 134, 
142, 145-6, 156, 164, 170, 185-9 

Bolognese motives, 253; palaces, 195 

Bonding, various methods, 9-10 

Borgatti, Gen. Mariano, 285 

Bramantesque influence, 223 

Bréscia, 267 


Brick, Byzantine period, xm1; capitals of 
various types, xIv, 24, 28, 35, 39 42; 
carved, xv, 24, 39, 121, 142, 186, 221, 
229, 245; centering, 14, 181; in Chaldea, 
x1; colors, 25, 35, 201; common, 148, 
247; in country and smaller houses, 
xvi, 166, 268-70; crossings, 21; curved, 
121; cut, 121; decorative uses, XIII- 
XIV, xXvi-xvu1, 10, 24, 28, 31, 37, 
face 37; 39, 41, 47, 93, 107, 109, 119, 
156, 179, 182, 184, 229, 232; in Egypt, 
x1, face 247; facing walls, 35, 46, 80, 
85, 184, 247; hammer work, 121, 156, 
229; herringbone, 22-3, 125, 164; 
hollow, in baths, 23; imitation of 
stone or stucco, xIv-xvI, 24, 28, face 
37, 41; 142, 229; kiln burned, 1-4; 
manufacture of, 1-3, 47, 178, 246-7; 
moulds, 178-9; in xrx century archi- 
tecture, xv1, 246; painted on plaster, 
148; pavements, 23, 177, 185, 215, 
245; predominance in Middle Ages, 
xIv; quality of, face 1; 8, 26, 37, 41; 
sizes, 3, 47, 247; solid walls of, 9; 
special shapes, see DECORATIVE USES; 
standardized, 47, 50; steps, 259; with 
stone or marble courses, xiv, 11-12, 
142, 145; sun-baked, x1, 1, 8; trade- 
marks on, 4-5; triangular half-brick, 2, 
4; vaults and vaulting, 13, 18, 21, 
181-2; widespread use in antiquity, 
5, 8,32; yards, xm, 5 

Brickwork, Baroque, xvi, 228-30, 236, 
241-2; in Certosa of Pavia, 205; decline 
of, 26, 46, 66, 221, 228; decorative, 
see BRICK, DECORATIVE USES; defects 
in, 26, 180; high quality of, Front., 66; 


291 


Brickwork cont'd 


interior, 94-8, 276-7, 285; at Médédena, 
97; pattern work, 114-15; of San 
Michele, 100; of San Pietro in Ciel 
d’Oro, 79, 85; skill in, 85, 145, face 
151; 164, 205, 223 

Brusasco, 89 

Building, radical change in, 179 

Burckhardt, 213, 215 

Buttigliera, 106-7 

Buttresses, 54, 65, 141, 271 


Byzantine influence, x11, 49, 65; face 69, 
face 119 


C 


Caelian Hill, 12, face 89, 93 
Caementum, see Opus 
Caesar Bérgia, 134 
Caffarella, valley of, face 41 
Calabria, x11, 246 
Calidérium, 23 
Campagna, Roman, 9, 35, face 41 
Campania, province, x11, 1, 246 
Campaniles: 
the Beata Vérgine del Soccorso, 222 
the Filippini, 236 
Francesco Romana, face 21 
the Frari, face 153 
Gaeta, 133-4 
Lombard, x11 
Parma, XIV 
Pomposa, xIv, 64 
Roman xtv, 57, 68-70 
Saluzzo, 232 
San Giorgio in Velabro, face 69 
Sancta Maria Nova, face 21 
Sant’ Ambrogio, 93 
Sant’ Andrea del Fratte, 245 
Santa Maria degli Angeli, 223 
Santa Maria de Loreto, 228 
Santa Maria dell’ Anima, 223 
St. Mark’s, xu, 286-7 
Campidéglio, face 21 
Campionese masters, 94 
Campo Santo, Ferrara, 195 
Canina, 32 
Canosa, tomb at, 40, 41 
Capitals, of brick, xtv; Composite, 24, 35; 
Corinthian, face 1; (37: 24,. 28) 35; 
Ionic, 24, 223; Tuscan, Front. 
Capitoline Hill, Front., face 21 
Caporali of Perugia, 8 
Capua, tomb at, 40, 41 
Caracalla, Baths of, 18, 23 
Carena, Prof. Adolfo, 247 


292 


Carlovingian line, 66 
Carpi, cupola of, 232, 234 
Carthaginia, face 41 
Carthusian Abbey Church, 195 
Casa, dei Carracci, 189, 195 
di Crescénzio, 68, 74 
Gioanetti, 186 
della Porta, 170, 183 
di Rienzi, 68, 74 
degli Zanirati, 243, 245 
degli Zucchini, 267 
Castel Sant’ Angelo, 185, 283, 286 
Castellated type, 213 
Castle (Castello), Estense, xiv, 166, 193, 195 
Moncalieri, 216, 223 
Ostia, 134, 139 
Ozegna, 210, 213 
Pavia, XIV 
delle Quattro Torri, Avrea, 209, 213; 
Siena, 134, 139 
Sforzesco, 166, 180, 196-8, 201 
Torrechiara, 211, 213 
Vinovo, 232 
Castrensian amphitheatre, 25, 28, 30, 46 
Castro Pretorio, 10, 28-9, 46 
Catania, 3 
Cathedrals: 
Asti, 148, 155 
Biella, 86, 93 
Borgo San Donnino, 93, 107, 108 
Carignano, 229-30 
Carpi, 232, 234 
Crema, 109, 113 
Cremona, xiv, 109-12, 125, 129 
Florence, 178, 181 
Gaeta, 134 
Médena, 94-7 
Piacenza, XIV 
Parma, 78, 82 
Salluzzo, 148, 232 
St. Mark’s, 153, 287 
St. Peter’s, 181, 182 
Cattaneo, 89 
Cattle Market, old Roman, face 69 
Centering, method, 14 
Central Italy, 148, 223 
Ceres-Bacchus, Temple of, 68 
Certosa of Pavia, 153, 185, 202-5 
Cesena, bridge of, 217, 222 
Chaldea, x1 
Chapel, of the Madonna Addolorata, face 
151; of the Scrovegni, 153, 158; of SS. 
Trinita, face 121 
Charlemagne, face 55; 66 
Chiaravalle, Milanese, 100, 103, 105-7, 119; 
della Colomba, 107 
Chimney tops, 253 
Choisy, xIv 


INDEX 


Churches: 
All Saints, 276-7 
the Beata Vérgine dei Soccorso, 217, 222 
Corpus Domini, 259, 262 
Crocifisso, 114, 118, 120, 121 
Divino Cuore, 271-2 
Domine Quo Vadis, face 41 
the Eremitani, 153, 158 
the Filippini, 185 
the Frari, 145, face 153 
the Holy Sepulchre, face 121 
La Sagra, 194-5 
Nuova (Mantua), 191, 195 
Parish of Bagnacavallo, 64 
Piedmontese, 148 
Sacred Heart, 276, 278-9 
San Babila, 286 
Bernardino dei Zoccolanti, 195 
Camillo, 271 
Celso, 93 
Cristéforo, 195 
Doménico, Bologna, 232; Turin, 148 
Fermo Maggiore, 145 
Francesco, x11, Ravenna face 61; 62; 
Bologna, 142, 145, face 149 
Giacomo Maggiore, x1, 145 
Gimignano, 166 
Gidérgio in Velabro, 68, face 69 
Giovanni, Turin, 229 
Giovanni Evangelista, 47, 49, 62, 80 
Giuliano, 148 
Lorenzo Maggiore, 65 
Lorenzo, Mantua, 94; Turin, 182; 
Vicenza, 145 
Luca, 222 
Marco, 100 
Martino Maggiore, 285 
Mercuriale, 100 
Michele in Bosco, Bologna, 232 
Michele, Cremona, 100 
Niccold, 133, 135 
Petrénio, face 149; 164 
Pier Crisélogo, 51 
Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, 85, 89 
Pietro Maggiore, Ravenna, face 61 
Pietro, Médena, 195 
Pietro Vécchio, Brusasco, 89, 93 
Sepolcro, x1, 93, 114, face 117, 121; 
121, 185 
Silvestro, 97 
Teodoro, 80, 89 
Vincenzo in Prato, 93 
Vitale, 47, 54, face 55; 64-5 


Sancta Maria Nova, face 21; 68 
Maria Antiqua, face 73 


Sanctus Martinus in Coelo Atreo, 51 


Sant’ Anastasia, 236 
Andrea delle Fratte, 245 
Apollinare in Classe, 57, 62, 65 
Apollinare Nuovo, 51 
Atanasio dei Greci, 228 
Eustérgio, 285 


INDEX 


Churches cont’d 


Santa Croce, 100 
Famiglia (Holy Family), 276 
Fosca, 68 
Francesca Romana, face 15; 68, face 73 
Maria dell’ Anima, 223 
degli Angeli, 223 
della Caccie, 66 
of Calvenzano, 93 
in Césmedin, 51, 68 
Gloriosa dei Frari, x11, 145, face 151, 
153 
di Loreto, 228 
dell’ Orto, 236 
in Porto Fuori, 62 
della Rocelletta, x1 
delle Vérgini, 223 
Sofia, 93 
Santi Giovanni e Paolo, xm, 93, 145, 
149, face 151 
Maria e Donato, 93 
Nazario e Celso, 50 
Pietro e Paolo, 109, 121 
Santissima Annunziata, 232; 
Trinita, 121 
Santo Spfrito, 215 
Stéfano, Bologna, x1, 94, 109, 285; 
Venice, 153 
Spirito Santo, 186 
St. Ambrose, 89 
John’s, Lateran, 41 
Mark’s 65, face 151; 153 
Peter’s face 15; 180, 181 
Sepulchre, face 117, 119, 121 
Sophia’s, face 15 
Stephen’s, face 121 
Trinity, face 117 
Circular church, 94 
Circus Maximus, face 69 
Cisano, school, 267-8 
Cistercian churches of France, 156 
Citta della Pieve, 184 
Civil architecture, 125 
Claudian arches, 12 
Claudius, 2, 4, 10-11, 28 
Clay pipes used in vaulting, 5] 
Clays, 1, 178, 201, 246 
Clement VI, p. xin, face 73; 223 
Clivus Scauri, face 89 
Clock tower of the Filippini, 236 
Cloisters, 68, face 71, 73; 105-7, 124, 125, 
140, 148, 156 


Colasanti, Dr. Arduino, vit 

Collegio di Propaganda Fide, 236, 239 
Collegio Romano, 225, 228 

Colleoni, Statue of, face 151 
Colomba, Chiaravalle della, 107 
Colosseum, 12, 18, 10, face 21; 22 


293 


Columbaria, Latin Way, 3, 35, face 37 

Communal Palace, Siena, 164-5; Jesi, 186 

Communes, growth of, 66 

Composite order, see CAPITALS 

Concrete conglomerate, x11, 9 

Conécchia, tomb of, 40-1 

Constantine, 11-12, face 15, 69; 94 

Constantine II, face 89 

Constantinople, xm 

Conti, Torre dei, 134, 137 

Convent of the Filippini, 236, 241 

Conventual School, 259, 262 

Corinthian order, see CAPITALS 

Cornices, 39, 49, 51, 54, 62, 80, 114, 142, 
150, 10G5170, 216 

Corso, d’Italia, 271; Venezia, 286 

Cortina, wall facing, 9, 247 

Count Verde, 213 

Court, of Justice, 125; of Pilate, face 117, 
119; 119, 121 

Crema, 109, 113-14 

Cremona, 109-12, 125, 129, 145, 156, 216, 
222, 248 

Crisélogo, Archbishop, face 61 

Cristo Risorto, chapel of, 216, 222 

Cross, Stations of, 68, face 117 

Crossings, of brick, 21 

Crusades, 66, face 117, 121 

Cupola, 22, 180-2 


D 


Dante, describes Italy, x1; tomb of, face 61 
De Architectura, by Vitruvius, 2 
Decoration, decline of, 26 

Della Robbia family, 245 

Della Seta, 1 

De Salvio, Prof. Alfonso, rx 
Descemet, on brick stamps, 5 
Deus Rediculus, temple of, face 41 
Diaconus, Paulus. 68 

Dies for brick and terra cotta, 1 
Diocletian, baths of, 23 

Dion Cassius, on floods, 8 

Domus. Gaiana, 31; Tiberiana, 10 


F 


Egéria, vale of, face 41 

Egypt, XI-xII 

Emilia, the, xu, 178, 184, 186, 215, 246-7 
Empire, Roman, xu, 46 


294 


Erbe, piazza dell’, 94 

Este family, 195 

Etruscan influence, xu-x11, 1, 8-9 
Euphrates, the, x1 


Facia vista, 247 

Fano, xiv, 125, 164 

Farnese, palace, 181, 223; theatre, 232 
Ferrara, x1v-xv, 166, 184, 195, 245, 268 
Filippini, oratory and convent, 236 
Fletcher, History of Architecture, 54 
Florence, 178, 181, 185 

Florentine windows, 166 

Fontanellato, 134 

Foot, Roman, 2 

Forli, 100-1, 134 

Fortress construction, 134 

Forum Excavations, vit, Front. 


Forum, Roman, 3, face 15, 21; of Trajan, 
Front.; Boarium, face 69; of Pompeii, 3 


Francesca de’ Ponziani, face 73 
Francesco Maria I, Duke of Urbino, 223 
Franciscan Brothers, face 153 

Frari, the, see CHURCHES 

French Academy, Rome, vii 

French Cistercian influence, 100 


G 


Gaeta, 134 

Galla Placidia, 49; tomb of, 47, 50-52 

Garisendi tower, 134 

Génoa, 164 

Geology, effect on architecture, x1-x1I 

Giotto, 153 

Giovannoni, Prof. vii, x1x, 47, 142, 285 

Girgenti, 3 

Giudecca, 267 

Golden House of Nero, 12; face 2] 

Gonzaga, Eleonora, 223 

Gordiani, Villa dei, 18 

Gothic, monuments, x1v; of France, 125; 
period, 141-177; influence, 145; Italian, 
face 149, 153; late, 153, 286; restoration, 
286; revival, 276; Tuscan, 164; Venetian, 
170, 186, 195, 204-5 

Gradara, XIV 

Graffito, xv1, 185, 201, 205 

Grain Market, Ostia, 31 

Grassi, Vittorio, 259 

Groin arches, 142 


INDEX 


Groining, early, 22, 180 
Gregory XIII, 228 
Greek influence, 2, 8 
Guido da Polenta, face 61 
Guilds, face 37; 85 


H 


Hadrian, 3, 11, 18, face 21; 23, 31, 283, 286 

Half-bricks, 2, 3 

Hannibal, face 41 

Hellenistic tradition, 8 

Hemicycle of Trajan, Front. 

Herodes Atticus, 40 

Herringbone work, 3, 23, 93, 125, 182 

Hills, Caelian, face 89; Capitoline, face 21; 
Velian, face 21; Palatine, face 21; Esqui- 
line, face 21 


History of Architecture, Fletcher, 54 
Honorius, 46, 48-49 

Horrea Epagathiana, 31, 34 
Hydraulic cement, xu 


I 
fmola, 268-9 
Incertum, (insertum), opus, 9, 11 
Innocent III, 134 
Ionic Order, see CAPITALS 
Italic temples, 1 
Istrian stone in decoration, J177 
Italy, varied surface, x1 
Ivrea, 213 


Janiculum, the, vi 

Janus Quadrifrons, face 69 
Jesi, x11, 186 

Julian, the Apostate, face 89 
Julius Caesar, 2 

Justinian, 48, 54, face 55 


K 
Key blocks, 141 


L 


Laconicum, 23 

Lantern, Cistercian, 100 
Latérculi besales, 3-4 
Lateres, 2-3 


INDEX 


Laterizio, 247 

Latin, early brick construction, 1 
Latina, Via, 35-39; face 37, 41 
Latin Tradition, 179-80 

Latium, stone, 213; clays, 246 
Liguria, x11 

Localized building practice, x1v, 142 


Lombard, campanile, x11; clays, 
Gothic, 109; influence, 66, face 89 


Lombard-Romanesque, 66, 89-140 
Lombardy, x11 

Longobard period, 65 

Lucca, 166-67 

Lucretia Borgia, 134 

Luitprand, 66, face 117 

Lungo Tévere, Michelangelo, 259 
Lydium, the, 2 


201; 


M 


Macerata, xv, 220, 223 


Madonna, dell’ Arena, 153, 158; Addolorata, 
face 151 


Majolica, in ornament, xvIi, 62, 64, 142, 144 
Malaguzzi-Valeri, 178, 180 

Mantua, 94, 186 

Marches, the, xv, 164, 178, 186, 195, 223 
Margherita, Queen Mother, 248 

Marini, list of stamps, 5 

Matilda, Countess, 94 

Mattone (brick), 247 

Maxentius, 12; Basilica of, face 15 
Maximianus, 66 

Mechanical progress, XVII 

Médici, Villa, vim 

Medieval art, 205 

Mediterranean, the, x11 

Mercanzia, the, Bologna, xv, 142, 156, 164 
Michelangelo, Lungo Tévere, 259 

Middle Classes, buildings of, 24, 32 


Milan, x11, xiv, 66, 89, 100, face 121; 166, 
180, 185, 201, 204, 205, 223, 285 


Milani, 179, 181 

Minerva Médica, 54, 56 

Mixtum, opus, 11, 13 

Médena, xiv, 94-8, 178, 195, 267 
Modern Italian, 248 

Marini’s list, 5 

Mondovi, xv1, 229 

Montechiarigolo, 47 

‘Monte Oliveto Maggiore, face 73; 213 


295 


Monza, 94, 125, 268 

Moorish influence, 134 

Mortar, joints, 26; quick setting, 14 
Mosaic, xv 

Moulds, for brick, 178, 179; terra cotta, 1 
Murano, island of, 93 

Museum of Natural History, 229 





N 
Naples, 1 
National Museum, Rome, 10 
pene, Archbishop, face 61; Baptistery of, 


Nero, 12, face 21; 32 

Niccolo II, 195 

Nigra, Porta, 28 

Nile Valley, x1 

Nomentana, via, 35 

Nonantola, Abbey Church of, 97 
Novara, 170 

Nymphaeum, Rome, 31, 56 





O 


Oblate order, face 73 

Octavianus, Augustus, 2 

Odeon at Athens, face 41 

Ogival openings, 100 

Opus caementum, 9-14, face 15; incertum 
(insertum), 9, 11; reticulatum, 9, 11, 
13, 28-29; mixtum, 11, 13; spicatum, 11, 
93, 164, 177 

Oratory, of the Filippini, 236, 240; of the 
Seven Sorrows, 240, 245 

Orders, see CAPITALS 

Orient, origin of brick seals, 4 

Orsini family, 134 

Ortiz y Sanz, 2 

Ospedale Maggiore, 199, 204 

Ostia, 8, 11, 18, 24, 28, 31-34 


Pp 

Padua, 93, 153 

Palaces: 
Academy of Science, Turin, 229 
Alessandria, xv1, 229 
Ascoli Piceno, 184 
Baglioni, 184 
Bolognini, 214, 221 
Boncompagni-Piombino, 248 
Borgheresi, 170 
Bovi-Silvestri, 186 
Braschi, 248 


296 


Palaces cont'd 


Buonsignori, 170 
Carignano, 229 


Communale, Cremona, 125, 129; Bologna, 


156, 161; Jesi, 186; Siena, 164-5 
Collegio Romano, 225, 228 
Costabili, 191, 195 
Ducal, Urbino, 184, 186 
Farnese, 181, 223 
Fava, 186, 188 
Fibbia, 214, 221 
Franzesi, 170 
Giordino, 222-3 
Isolani, 170 
Malaguti, 189, 195 
Malatesta, 164 
Manfredi, 188 
Margherita, 248-9 
Médici, 284, 286 
at Milan, 100 
at Mondovi, xv1, 229 
Palavicini, 214, 221 
Pratellesi, 170 
Provinciale, Treviso, 125, 128 
della Ragione, Fano, 125 
Réggia ad Calchis, 52, 54 
Royal, Alessandria, 229 
San Giorgio, 164, 167 
Salimbeni, 283, 286 
Sansedoni, 170 
Theodoric, 54 
at Torrechiara, 211, 213 
at Turin, xv1 


Palatine, the, 10, 22, 31, face 69 
Palatina, Porta, 26-28 

Palazzetto della Propositura, 166, 168 
Palermo, 3, 5 

Palm, the Roman, 2 

Pantheon, 12, face 21 

Paolo Emilio, Baths of, Front. 
Paradiso, Porta, 28 

Paramano, 247 

Parliament, Italian, 229 

Parma, xiv, 78, 82, 213, 232, 234 
Pavements, 23, 177, 185, 215, 245 
Pavia, xv, 79, 82, 89, 202-5 
Pavilion vaults, 180 

Pediments, broken, etc., Front. 
Pentadoron, 2, 10 

Persius, Tomb of, face 1 

Pertigia, 8 

Perugino, 184 

Pesaro, 222-3 

Pescheria, 259, 264. 

Petrénius, St., tomb of, face 117, 121 
Piacenza, x1v, 125, 130-1 


INDEX 


Piazza dell’ Erbe, 94. 

del Nettuno, 156 

of Trajan, Front. 

di Venézia, 259 

Vittério Emanuele, 156 
Piedmont, x11, 80, 205, 213, 223, 246 
Piedmontese castles, 213; churches, 148 
Pieve, Parish Church, 64 
Pilate, house of, 68; court of, face 117; 121 
Pincian Hill, vit 
Piranesi, 41-2 
Po, the, valley of, x11, xv, 178, 201 
Pointed arches, see ARCHES 
Polychromy, 25, face 119; 185, 195, 201 
Pompeii, 3, 8, 18, 23, 24 
Pomposa, xIv, 63-4 
Ponte Romano, 217, 222 
Ponziani, Francesca de’, face 73 
Porter, Prof., 1x, x1x, 47, 97 
Porphyry embellishments, face 119; 119 


Porta Asinaria, 45, 46 
Nigra, 28 
Palatina, 26-8 
Paradiso, 28 
Romana, 134, 140 


Porto, 22, 31 

San Gidérgio, 253 
Portunno, temple of, 22, 31 
Pozzolana, xu, 1, 9 
Pozzuoli, 1 
Praetorium, 31 
Pre-Augustan constructions, 9 
Pre-Lombard period, 65 
Pretorian Guard, camp of, 46 
Proserpine, temple of, 68 
Pyramid of Cestius, 46 


Q 
Quirinal Hill, Front. 


R 


Ravenna, x11, 3, 47-62, face 55, 121; 134-5 
Réggia ad Chalcis, 52, 54 
Reliquary, face 121 


Renaissance, xv, 22, 23, 31, face 55; 177; 
178-228; 245 


Republic, the, 11, 26 
Restorations, 285 
Reticulatum, see Opus 
Revival of Italian art, 179 


INDEX 


Ribs in vaults, 181 

Rienzi, house of, 68 

Rimini, x1v 

Rivoira, 2 

Roberti, villino, 253 

Rocca, di Caterina Sforza, 134, 138; San 
Vitale, 134, 138; at Siena, 283, 286; 
Viscontea, 201 . 

Roccatelli, Carlo, Prof. Ing., xvi, 46, 245 

‘Rock formations and architecture, x1 

Romagna, 64 


Roman, architecture, x11, 31; campaniles, 
xi, 68-70; Empire, x1, 46; Forum, 3, 
face 15, 21 


Romanesque, monuments, xiv, 66, 68; 
period, 89-141, 145, 166, face 119; portal, 
194-5; 271, 276, 286 

Rome, vir, xi, 4, 18, 24, 25, 31, 66, face 89, 
P21; 134, 180-1, 213, 223, 247, 248, 253, 
259, 211,276. 

Rotunda at Vicenza, 181 

Rovigo, 222 

Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Bologna, 121 

Royal Villa, Monza, 268 


S 


Sacred architecture, modern, 271 
Sallust, gardens of, 31 

Salvadori, villa of, 253 

Samos, 178 

Sant’ Angelo, Castel, 185, 283, 286 
Santa Maria della Carita, school of, 218, 222 
Savio, the, 222 

Scipio in Carthaginia, face 41 
Seals on brick, 4, 5 

Sejanus, 28 

Sepulchres, see TomMBs 
Sesquipedales, 4, 12 

Severus, Septimius, 22, face 69 
Siorza, Francesco, 204 

Sicily, vii, 246 

Siena, xiv, 134, 164, 170, 185, 213, 286 
Sistine chapel, 181 

Sixtus IV, 215 

Soldier Saints, face 69 

Southern Italy, 134, 213, 223 
Sperandio, 186 

Spicatum, see Opus 

Squillace, x1v 

Squinch arch, 56-57 

St. Catherine, house of, 213 
Stairways, brick, face 15 


297 


Staffarda, 94 

Stations of the Cross, 68 

Stone, imitated in brick, x1v-xv, 142, 221-2 
Stern, little palace of, 259, 264 
Stevens, Prof., vit 

Stradella, 47 

Straw, use in sun-baked brick, 1 
Structura testacea, 9 

Stucco, xvi, 9, face 15, 21, 55; 245 
Suetonius, 8 

Sullan Period, 4, 11 

Sun-baked brick, x1, 1, 4, 8 
Susa, 28 


T 
Tacitus, 32 
Taine, xt 
Taormina, 3, 6 
Technique of 15th and 16th centuries, xv 
Tégolo (tile), 247 
Tegolozza construction, 180 
Tégulae fractae, 4 
Template, of brick, 14 


Temples: 
Bacchus, 42 
Ceres-Bacchus and Proserpine, 68 
Portunno, 22, 31 
Sibylline, 22 
Trajan, Front. 
Venus and Roma, face 21; 23 
Vulcan, 31 


Témpio, della Salute, 42 
del Dio Redicolo, face 41 


Terra cotta, x1v, xv1, 1, 18, 24, 31, 40, 82, 
125, 142, 156, 178, 185-6, 201, 205, 213, 
222, 245, 247, 253, 267 

Tetradoron, 2, 10 

Theatre, at Ostia, 6, 32; Farnese, 232 

Theodelinda, 66, 100 

Theodora, Empress, face 55 

Thedédoric, Emperor, 51, face 55 

Theodésius, 49 

Thessalonica, X11 

Tiber, the, xu, 8 

Tiberius, 28 

Tiépolo, Doge of Venice, face 151 

Tigris, XI 

Tile, 1, 3, 4, 9, 47, 247-8 

Tivoli, 18, 23, 30 

Tombs: 

Annia Regilla, 40-3, face 41 
Calventii, 22 


at Canosa, 40-1 
Conécchia, 40, 41 


298 


Tombs cont'd 


Dante, face 61 

Galla Placidia, 47, 50-2 

on Latin Way, 35; 

Messer Acctrsio, 142 

at Ostia, 28-9 

Persius, face 1; 32, 42 

Platorini, 10 

Public, face 37; 

Valérii, 38-9 
Torcello, island of, 68 
Tufa (tufo), use of, x1, 11, 31 
Tolentino, cloister of San Niccold, 125, 140 
Torraccio della Cecchina, 35 
Torrazzo, the, Cremona, 110, 125 


Tower (Torre) degli Anguillara, 134-5 
of the Asinelli, 134, 136 
de’ Capocci, 134, 136 
of the Commune, Verona, 164, 166 
de’ Conti, 134, 137 
of the Garisendi, 134 
delle Milfzie, 134, 137 
of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, 210, 213 
di Nerone, 134, 137 
of Ravenna, 134-5 
of Torrechiara, 211, 213 


Towers, of Aurelian Wall, 46; of Bologna, 
xiv, 134, 136 

Town Hall at Monza, 125, 132 

Trademarks on brick, 4, 5 

Trajan, Forum of, face 21; 31; times of, 5 

Trastévere, the, 134 

Travertine, base of brick columns, 28, 30 

Treves, 28 

Treviso, 125, 145 

Tridpio, of Herodes Atticus, 40-3 

Triangular brick, 2, 4, 10 

Turin, xvi, 223, 229, 247 


Tuscan order, Front.; —Gothic, 164; motives, 
267 


Tuscany, x11, 141, 166, 185-6, 213 
Tympana, decorations in, 119 
Tyrrhenian Sea, X11 


U 
Ulpian Basilica, Front. 
Umbria, xm, 186 
Upper Italy, 222 
Urban VIII, 236 
Urbino, 186, 195, 223 


Vy 
Vale of Egéria, face 41 
Valentinian III, 49 


INDEX 


Valley of Caffarella, face 41 

Van Deman, Dr. Esther Boise, vir 
Vanozza de’ Catanei, 133 

Vatican, 46, 181 


Vaults, xm, x1v, face 1, 15; 13, 18, 21, 180, 
181 


Velabrum, face 69 

Velian Hill, face 21 

Venetia, x11, x11, 215, 246 

Venetian, brick laying, face 151; builders, 
177; —Gothic, 170 


Venice, xiv, face 61; 93, 145, 148, 153, 222, 
259 


Verannius, Quintius, 32, 42 
Vercelli, 121, 126, 127 

Verde, Conte, 213 

Verdozzi, Prof. Ing., xvi1, 177, 286 
Verona, 145, 164, 166 

Verrécchio, face 151 


Via Alessandro Farnese, 259 
Babuino, 276 
dei Rossi, 286 
Latina, 35, face 37 
Nomentana, 35 
Pompeo Magno, 259 
SS. Giovanni e Paolo, face 89 
Sardegna, 259 
Vicenza, 145, 154 
Victor Emmanuel II, 229 
Vigolo Marchese, 47 


Villa Arco Scuro, 255, 259 
Médici, vii 
Imperiale, 221, 223 
Salvadori, 251, 3 
dei Sette Bassi, 21-2 


Villino Ferrari, 250-3 
Popert, 259-60 
Roberti, 253-4 
Salandra, 256, 259 
Scialéia, 259-60 
Sebastiani, 257, 259 
Vitale, 250, 253 


Visconti family, 100, 201, 204, 205 
Viterbo, 66 

Vitruvius, 1-3, 8-9 

Volta a vela, 50 


W 
Wedge-shaped bricks, 12 


Western Empire, decline of, x1 


Z 


Zanirati, Casa, 245 
Zucchini, Casa, 267 





St 











” 
e : 
i sl 
Se | 
ne 
; Designed and Executed by 
3 Columbian Colortype Company 
: Chicago 
a: * 
Bi 
’ 
Ny 
wm so yo 








? 


of 





a 





ETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 


AWN , 


Se Beare, 


os 


ben at 


ee ee 


FP, hy Pe, 
tee 
vet 
Parke re a ie a 


cig ¥ we re 
7; wigs 
: 


7, 
Lee os 
a 


at Stalett 
Satyenoeiatey) 


#7 te 


ye 
Tee ete 


peers 
Dene Seats; 


3° 


stefst Eva Hopate: v 
ay ete : eielele’ 
Sie a ea Pia 
Parsi oi 


ee 


rs 
% 


ett tateSa 
ley 
ete fe ale 
ee gute 
re etl > : +0 vals 
ste ates 7 k A ¢ 
se aacate 
3 : 
eitafed 


7» 
ta : i MSE 
tate Lt mie 

fem ete ls tae? 4 
. ote 
t c ; the ’ ; . . 4 Soot te 

! ; : ; : 7 
tha % i 2h r + 

feted ey 


atetet te 
oes 
st 


. 
< 


Pity yry 
eat 


ta 


erates: se 


f Tait 


sf ri 
a bo? 


ey 
et 
ee 
aa at 
“ts tatatete 
pasa 


ete 
ole ts ine 


Parsi 
ttt, 
Tosh! 


ele th 


Sree lar 


$7 


de 





ee 
its 


Bata 
tothe Matelite 


